Immanuel-The Breakable God

I have been thinking that the Christmas season is a wonderful time...for most of us...most of the time. It is precisely because it is so great most of the time that it can be such an incredibly difficult time as well. This got me thinking about pain during the holidays. There is tremendous warmth and goodness during this time but pain peaks as well doesn't it? It should not surprise us. The shepherds watched as the angels sang of great joy. They ran into Bethlehem, saw the Child, and then laughed and sang their way back to the sheep. God had come and they were no longer alone. But when God came there was also a dark side to all the joy. At Christmas we celebrate Immanuel, God with us. It is the time when God became breakable. Christianity is the only religion in the world that teaches that we can actually hurt God and we did. Hurting God became possible because of Christmas. Christmas does not give me the reason for suffering and pain. When suffering happens there are usually two possible responses. Some will think that God wasn't paying attention. That God is an absent God and doesn't really care. The other response is that God is vindictive and is punishing people for their decisions and their sin. Christmas forces us away from both those answers. The fact that God became Immanuel means that he is not absent. He is not a God who ignores our pain but instead has entered in. We may not know why suffering happens but as Christians we have a God who is willing to take the medicine himself. I will never suffer something he was not willing to suffer. He is not absent. The other truth that comes out at Christmas is that Jesus came to pay for our sin. That means that suffering is not because God is vindictive. If you are hurting this season I write this for you. If you are in pain then it is at Christmas you can be reminded that God came to be with you right in the middle of that pain.If your life is going well and you are looking forward with great anticipation to a joy filled time around a feast with friends and family, remember it is Immanuel who has given you joy. Either way, Christmas is a time of wonder. The infinite became finite, the immortal became mortal, the omnipotent became breakable...for you...with you.