Why Jesus Came

“My God of mercy shall come to meet me”

Psalm 59:10


In a world that is becoming increasingly more complex with each passing day it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and alone. It’s just one of the many reasons I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to remind people that the greatest benefit of becoming a follower of Christ is the realization that from that moment on throughout all eternity you are never ever alone again. God Himself has made us a promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us, that we can enjoy through out this life the gift of His presence wherever we go.  

With that thought in mind I asked our midweek service last night what was the point in Jesus Christ coming to earth? A couple said so we could go to heaven. Another said, forgiveness, someone else said to die for our sins. Great answers and all those things are true but when you study the Bible in context we often confuse Jesus actions with His purpose. If you go back to the very beginning in the Garden of Eden what was the purpose for God creating man to begin with? The simple answer is to enjoy the presence of God, walking with Him each day. After the Fall of Adam and Eve, when Cain killed his brother Abel we read that his punishment was to live out the remainder of his life as a vagabond, a wanderer in the wilderness hidden from the face of God. Cain said it best himself, “this punishment is more than I can bear!” There is nothing worse in this life or the life to come than to be outside the presence of God.

When God chose Abraham as the Father of the nation who would become Israel, The Lord told Moses that He, God Himself would tabernacle among His people, as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When God moved the people moved and when God stopped the people stopped. God chose a people with whom His glory dwelt. The unique characteristic of the nation of Israel in comparison to all the other peoples who inhabited the earth was “their God tabernacled among them” not like the foreign gods of the pagans who were known only to be territorial. Wherever the nation of Israel went God was there. What was true for Israel then is true for every follower of Christ today!

When the angel (most likely Gabriel) announced to Joseph in a dream the birth of Jesus into world he proclaimed, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). Jesus name is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus was born into this world to be with us, God with us. His life, His death and resurrection made possible the greatest gift ever known to mankind. God was no longer just with us, He now would be in us! After Jesus resurrection and ascension back to heaven Jesus said He would pray to the Father and ask Him to send “another” in Jesus name to us who would be both with us and in us. The Comforter was coming to be with God’s children, to live within their hearts to comfort us on our journey through this life leading us home into the very presence of God the Father, the place we were created for all along, the place God longs for His kids to be.

Know this today, loved one. If you have opened your heart to Jesus and invited Him in, He is there. Never to leave you nor forsake you. A poem by Annie Johnson Flint comes to mind today,

“God has not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God has not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He has not told us we shall not bear
many a burden, many a care.

God has not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep

But God has promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.”

Because Jesus is our Emmanuel, nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God that is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. Look up and you will find Him today, look around and He will be there, look down and you will be aware you are not alone. God is with you every step of the way. Walk with Him, enjoy the presence of God right where you are, no matter where you are.

 
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.”

Psalm 139:7-10


I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

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