God is really with us

A few days ago, I reflected on the Hebrew name Yahweh Qarob - the God who is near. The idea of a God who is not far away was already revolutionary in Old Testament times, but Isaiah's prophecy about the coming Messiah takes it even a step further. 

Isaiah writes, in Is 7: 14, that the name of the coming Deliverer will be עִמָּנוּאֵל - Immanuel, God with us! His prophecy is quoted in Matthew 1: 21 - 23, saying that the same Jesus who'll save His people from their sins is the long-awaited Ἐμμανουήλ - God with us. By coming to live on earth, God was not only near; He was actually with us. He ate and drank, laughed and cried with mere human beings.

And what began with Jesus on earth, in the flesh, continued with the promise of the ever-present Holy Spirit in the life of believers. Even today, God is still with us, He is still Immanuel.