IMMANUEL ~ The Gift of WITH - Advent Day 1

LIFE

As we step into this season we celebrate the gift of Jesus, and that truly “light & life” to all He brings. These are familiar concepts that we rehearse each Christmas, but there is often tension between what we see in Him and what we feel in this world. But this is the wonder of the gift of Jesus - that He has made goodness possible amidst brokenness and pain. He is our Light, he is our Life and the fun & festivities can remind us of this beauty. Light is most fully appreciated in contrast to darkness, and Life in contrast to death. Light & Life do not minimize suffering and pain, they affirm that what we need is rescue and redemption. 

We can acknowledge the darkness, the pain, the brokenness, the need - and this calls us to draw nearer to the Light and open our hearts to discover more fully what having His Life really means. Jesus came into our world, right into the middle of chaos, to be Immanuel - God With Us. He enters into our reality, and brings a new reality - a reality that dispels darkness and brings new life to dead places. 

Take a moment and notice what feels dark right now? Where have you experienced death or loss recently? Where do you feel stuck, and where do you tend to go to “find life”? What holds you back from inviting His light in? Acknowledge what feels dark or dead to you and turn your gaze towards Immanuel, God WITH you. Let Him be your Life. 

“God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11–12