The Good Of The Father (God Among Us)

 All the people were discerning the thunderclaps and the torches and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking.  And the people saw and roved about and stood afar.  They said to Moses: Speak with us that we may hear; yet Elohim must not speak with us lest we die

Exodus 20: 18-19, Concordant Old Testament 

The people of Israel had just witnessed the glory of the presence of the Lord, and they wanted nothing at all to do with it.  Instead of taking the opportunity to commune in the presence of their God, these Israelites cowered in fear at the sight before them.  I cannot speak for everyone, but I believe that this is the very same mentality today which prevents Gods children from recognizing that they live in the presence of the Lord today {Johns Account 14:20}.  It's the mentality which Satan spoke to Eve in the garden {Genesis 3:1-6}.  The belief that they were separated from the God Who created them.  This belief is stressed to this day in the teachings of the mainstream church.  The Lord is holy, and we are but sinners.  That the only way that we can approach the Father is through Jesus.  While it is true that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, it is also true that we live each day in the presence of the Father {Johns Account 14:6}.  Yet far too many believers live their lives like those Israelites of old, in fear of God.  I recently had a discussion with a good friend of mine who reminded me that the relationship which the Father once shared with His creation in the garden had been broken when they partook of the forbidden fruit.  When God called out to Adam in the garden, he responded that he had heard His call but that he was afraid as he was naked {Genesis 3:10}.  This is a far cry from the time before he partook of the fruit, as Adam and Eve walked in the garden and were not ashamed {Genesis 2:25}.  Obviously, something happened between that point and his taking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  So it is that we have been sold on the narrative that God is holy and that we ourselves are soiled with sin and unable to be in His presence.  

Lo!  The virgin shall be pregnant And shall be bringing forth a Son, and they shall be calling His name "Emmanuel," which is, being construed, "God with us." 

Matthews Account 1: 23, Concordant New Testament 

In a few short days, churches around the world will gather to celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus once again.  They will glory in His immaculate conception and humble beginnings.  For He is the savior which the prophet Issaiah proclaimed {Issaiah 7:14}.  The telling of His birth proclaims that "He shall be saving His people from their sins" {Matthews Account 1:21}.  Consider theses two prophesies concerning the birth of Jesus for a moment: "They shall call His name Emmanuel," which is, being construed, "God with us" {Matthews Account 1:23}.  Also, "You shall be calling His name Jesus, for He shall be saving His people from their sins" {Matthews Account 1:21}.  Saving Gods people from their sins, God with us?  This sounds to me as if the Father is restoring that relationship He once had with His creation.  Through Christ Jesus, God would once again walk among His children.  There is no mention of sin in this new relationship, as Jesus became put that to death at the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Yet, before Jesus even was nailed to that cross, the Father interacted with His creation through Him.  Jesus proclaimed that He and the Father were one {Johns Account 10:30}.  It is the Father who walked the streets of Jerusalem speaking to all who would listen.  It is the Father who performed the miracles for which Jesus is given credit.  This was God once again in relationship with his children.  This is God among us.  As we once again celebrate another Christmas season, we do well to recognize the true reason for the season.  That being our restored relationship with the Father.  

~Scott~