"For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given."
Sometimes we seem so far from that manger scene. 2000 years can lay heavy, like a lump of iron in our hearts. It can make the air seem colder around us, and our prayers echoe distant and ominous into the night. Still the promise of this savior is as true today as it was that night when Mary cradled her newborn child and grazed his warm cheek with a tender hand. I think of a refrain in a song I wrote this last year.
"You're not too far - you're not too far away. Oh God, you're not too far to hear me when I pray. You're not too far to wipe these tears away. Oh God, You're not too far - I will be with you someday."
The verse at the top of the page goes on to say that, He will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, and Emmanuel." Emmanuel means, "God with us." No longer are we alone in this. God is here, and He has proven it to us, once and for all, through the gift of His son, Jesus.
Please, let the warmth and grace of that humble scene; a young girl, her husband, and a baby, wrapped in nothing but rags...let the sweetness of that "not too far away" wrap you in the very presence of God this Christmas. A God who came to a world so in need, not as a king, but as a baby...easily overlooked, but so beautiful if we will but look. So look! Look now with eyes that really see.
