The God Who is With Us

A rule-following, small-town church girl gets pregnant. She’s not married, and the baby isn’t even her fiancé’s. By law, she could be killed for a scandal like this.⠀
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But she hasn’t done anything wrong.⠀
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The guy who loves her is a good man. He decides they’ll break up quietly, and hopefully her life will be saved. ⠀
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But then he has a dream. A messenger from Heaven tells him the baby belongs to God. Many wouldn’t believe this, but he still trusts.⠀
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With so much stacked against them, the couple follows the governor’s orders and travels out of town for a census. ⠀
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Everything’s crowded. As he realizes there’s nowhere to stay, she realizes time’s up: the baby is on his way. ⠀
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They find a barn. It’s drafty and smells like sour hay, but it’s dry and off the busy streets.⠀
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Far from home and everything familiar, the girl cries, “I need my mom,” as she delivers her baby in a barn. ⠀
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The man is a construction worker. He’s used to wood and bricks. But with torn nails and calloused palms, he clumsily swaddles the baby in strips of cloth. ⠀
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He looks down at the newborn whimpering in his trembling hands. The answer to everyone’s questions weighs less than ten pounds.⠀
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As tears trail down his sun-baked cheeks, he whispers, “Of all the ways to save the world…”⠀
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***⠀
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Everything is upside-down this year. Maybe you’re far from home or separated from the people you love. ⠀
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So what do we do when Christmas cheer seems out of reach? We remember.⠀
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We remember how our Rescuer entered into a world of chaos. He didn’t show up when people wanted him to, and He didn’t come like everyone expected. Instead, God became a man. He arrived like all of us do—helpless and small. Unable to speak or care for Himself or even hold up His own head. Fully dependent on his parents.⠀
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And He called Himself this: Emmanuel. God Who is With Us.⠀
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The story doesn’t end with a baby’s birth—it’s only part of the greatest rescue mission the world will ever know—but it reminds us that, no matter how much chaos swirls around us, God always makes a way. He is still Emmanuel. He is still with us.⠀
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Back in the first century, and now in 2020.⠀
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Do not be afraid.