God Is Paying Attention
“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23)
I can’t think of a time of year when it’s easier to lose God than at Christmastime.
In many of the Christmas specials we watch on television and the songs people perform, there’s no mention of Jesus. I honestly think many of us know the Dickens story “A Christmas Carol” more than the story of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus.
It’s possible to lose God in this season. Of course, we can’t really lose God, but we can lose sight of Him. However, He never loses sight of us. He’s constantly thinking about us. We see this exemplified in the blessing God gave the priests to pronounce over the people of Israel: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).
In the original language, the phrase “the Lord lift up His countenance upon you” means “to look, see, and pay full attention.”
We don’t pay as much attention to each other as we used to. The reason for this is the existence of smartphones. People go out to dinner and spend most of the time staring at their devices. Or they’re out walking their dogs and looking at their phones.
Researchers have found that we have a generation of people who prefer texting to talking. Thus, many of these people might not understand social cues, such as making eye contact or nodding in affirmation when someone’s speaking to them.
That’s not true of God. When we’re talking, God’s listening. He’s taking in every word that we say. He’s very interested. The essential message of Christmas is Immanuel, God with us. We may lose sight of God, but He never loses sight of us.
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