Immanuel
December 27, 2004 • By Ed Wrather
12.27.04
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. - Matthew 1:18-15.
We human beings have visited the Planet Mars by sending robot explorers known as "rovers”. Currently, there are two active rovers on Mars, with the names of "Spirit" and "Opportunity". There is an interesting phenomenon that is occurring with the rover Opportunity. When the rovers first landed on the planet, their solar cells provided 900 watt-hours of power for each robot explorer. However, Spirit’s electrical output declined to around 400 watt-hours in part because of the Martian dust covering the solar panels. At first, the electrical output of Opportunity also declined down to about 500 watt-hours. Opportunities’ output inexplicably has increased to just over 900 watt-hours of power. Rover team leader Jim Erickson at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told New Scientist (newscientist.com) that "A process still not understood has repeatedly removed dust from the solar panels. These exciting and unexplained cleaning events have kept Opportunity in really great shape."
Apparently, something is with the Opportunity rover on the Planet Mars, assisting it in the performance of the needed exploration functions. SomeOne is with us. That SomeOne is Immanuel, God with us. God did not send a robot explorer to visit our planet. Instead, God came Himself to walk among us, as one of us, to experience all that we experience. God came as a tiny baby, born destined to suffer and die for our sins.
For those of us who know Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit, God Himself has come into our lives. We have been "born again" and "sealed until the day of redemption". God lives within us (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), and experiences all that we experience. Each step of every day, God is with the Christian walking with them. No, God may not spare us from the problems and difficulties of this imperfect/corrupt world in which we live. But as with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Daniel 3), He will go with us through them. "All things" do "work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." If, we love God, and walk with Him according to His will and purpose for our lives.
Immanuel, God is with us! Let us rejoice!
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