I remember as a child the anticipation of Christmas morning. My parents were early shoppers. So there would be present under the tree for three weeks before we were able to open them. My brothers and I would spend hours around the tree looking, holding, and guessing what might be inside. On one or more occasions, we got the courage to carefully open one or two to know what was inside and rewrap them so no one would know what we did.
We read in Matthew 1:18-24 the account of the dream Joseph receives about the birth of Jesus. This dream reveals that all of the prophecies from the Old Testament are fulfilled in the person of Jesus. The long-anticipated messiah has come to dwell with us. We also see Joseph surrender to what the angel of the Lord commanded him. Yet, without all of the details, Joseph trusted and in obedience took Mary as his wife and called the baby boy Jesus. The Lord still speaks to us today. The question is, will we obey?
It is easy to get caught up in the excitement and the anticipation of Christmas, the traditional food we will eat, and the presents we will give and receive. As we approach another Christmas may we stop and reflect on the miracle of the birth of Jesus, stop and reflect on the implication of through this birth, God has come down to dwell with us, and stop and remember that before this baby can be Jesus (Savior), He must be Emmanuel (God with us).