My favorite name of Christ is Immanuel, which means "God With Us." To think that God left the unimaginable purity and beauty of Heaven to come live among His creation. He didn't come as an adult, busting in and taking charge. He came as a baby, probably the most vulnerable creature there is.
"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
That verse to me is the amplified meaning of Immanuel. Jesus came and set the example of what a relationship with God the Father is all about. And then He died for my sins and rose again to make that relationship an eternal reality. All I have to do is accept the free gift He offers, because no gift is actually mine until I decide to accept it.
Each Christmas season my husband, son, and I use ADOREnaments to draw our attention to the different names and attributes of Christ. There are twelve ADOREnaments in all. The first one is my favorite, Immanuel. A few of the others are The Bread of Life, The Giver of Living Water, The King of kings and Lord of lords. We take turns reading the Scripture, reading the short devotional, and saying a prayer. My son then hangs the ADOREnament on the Christmas tree. I also buy a (usually not too costly) family gift to open after each ADOREnament.
It is all too easy to lose focus on what Christmas is really about. This is just one way to stop and think about the Reason for the Season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great idea, Barb! It's hard, isn't it, to keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas, when the world is so focused on all things but. I was talking to John about which Christmas Eve mass we would attend and one of my children overheard us and said, "Why do we even have to go to church on Christmas?" I about fell off my chair! Are you kidding me?? I thought we'd done such a good job teaching our children the true meaning. Apparently, not. I suppose if anything it gave us a good time to talk with the kids about the birth of Christ and how everything else is just bonus. I love the idea of ADOREnaments!
ReplyDelete