Matthew 1:18-23
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Have you ever found the absolute perfect gift for someone? Something you just know they will love that suits them perfectly? Something that will surprise and delight them? Something they will cherish? Maybe something they didn’t even know they would want or enjoy? And you know that feeling of excitement you have to get it for them and wrap it up, and you just can’t wait to give it to them and see their reaction?

I wonder if that’s how God felt when He was preparing to send Jesus into the world. When that appointed time had come and He had arranged everything just how it needed to be. When a young woman named Mary knelt to pray. Whan a noble man named Joseph prepared to take a bride. When Elisabeth no longer dared to hope for a child of her own. When Rome had risen and Israel had suffered. When the ravages of sin had afflicted the world for so long. When God was silent and hope seemed lost.

Lovingly and carefully He had prepared for this very moment when He would give the greatest gift of all to people who He loved more than they could ever know. When He gave that gift, it wasn’t deliverance from the bondage of Rome. It wasn’t land. It wasn’t money. It wasn’t a fruitful harvest or an increase in their possessions. What they needed most and what He chose to give was Himself through His Son, who would be born and live and then die for our sins. This is Emmanuel—God with us, closer than we could have ever hoped for Him to be. It is His presence in our world and then in our own hearts and lives.

When God looked down on a world full of sin, He looked with love, with mercy, with grace. He had a gift He prepared before the foundation of the world. So at the perfect time, in the perfect way, He gave Himself to people who hardly knew they needed Him. He sought to delight the heart of His greatest creation, to heal, restore, and forgive. In a world that is still so cold and dark and broken, may we rejoice in the simple truth of God with us, the wonder of His love, the joy of His salvation, the peace of His presence.