Immanuel

Ever since I was told about the Advent Conspiracy and read their tag line, "Christmas can still change the world. Give Presence," I have been captivated by that last line. Give Presence. What an awesome privilege we have to give the presence of Christ to those around us. God so loved the world that He gave us the first Christmas present, and that gift was His Presence. Jesus was the child of promise, Immanuel, God with us.

The truly amazing thing to me is that we can give that Presence of Immanuel to those around us, friends, family, coworkers, even strangers. If the Presence of Immanuel is within us, then we have the opportunity, and even the responsibility, to give Jesus to others. Just as Jesus, the baby, was born in the mess of a small-town stable, Jesus can be born in the messiness of the lives of those around us. So the big question is how? How do we Give Presence? How do we give the presence of Immanuel to others?

Here are four ways that we can Give Presence: prayer, presence, actions, and words. By praying with and for others we are bringing a living example of a life of faith into their lives. By investing ourselves in the lives of others and inviting them into our lives they will be able to see and experience the Presence of Immanuel simply by being in our presence. By being sensitive to the needs of the least of these and meeting those needs, we are acting as the hands and feet of Immanuel. Finally, by speaking the Words of Life and Truth into the lives of those around us we are injecting them with the Living Word, the Creator and Savior of the world.

Christmas has passed for 2008, but Giving Presence is something that we can and should be doing all year long. May God bless you richly with the gift of Himself as you give the Presence of Immanuel to those around you.
Blessings,
Shiloh