In this holiday season we know as Christmas, we spend the majority of time focusing on the giving and receiving of gifts. In fact, most of the stress that people experience during this time centers around the busyness of choosing, purchasing, and wrapping presents. There is nothing wrong with giving gifts to the ones that we love. God Himself is the example of such giving, for He loved us so much He was willing to give His Son, and to everyone who is willing to believe He also gives them eternal life. But do we put more emphasis on "presents" or on "presence?"
The wisemen who saw the star spent a great deal of time, preparation, and money in putting together their entourage that would travel to Israel so that they could find the newborn King. With God's divine direction they came to enter into the house where the child was, and upon entering they bowed down in worship and presented to Jesus expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were not satisfied just to send reprentatives on their behalf, and they certainly weren't going to ship them by some impersonal package company. For them there was nothing more important than being able to be in the "presence" of this newborn King when they presented Him with their "presents."
The Bible records these words about the birth of the Christ of Christmas.
"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel', which translated means, 'God with us.'"These words emphasize God's desire to be a relational God with His people. He not only wants us to know Him as the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God, but also as the God who wants to take up residence in the very lives of the ones He's created. Immanuel, God with us, speaks of the first coming of Jesus Christ as He put aside a portion of His glory and took on mortal flesh. He did this just so you & I could know Him. Now we can live every day in His presence because of His promise to come into our lives and never leave us or forsake us.
So in this Christmas season, do not only consider the P-R-E-S-E-N-T-S of Christmas, but take time to receive and reflect on the P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E of Christmas.
