December 2022 Word Prompt
Emmanuel, God With Us
Koinonia Prompt #2: My Favorite Christmas Song
The name Emmanuel is part of at least three different Christmas songs. Two are in the hymnal, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” and “Emmanuel, His name is called Emmanuel;” the other is Amy Grant’s “Emmanuel”.
I love them all. One reason is the minor key, suggesting the mystical and miraculous, a faraway land of mystery. Another is the idea of celebrating the Christ child who is full of promise and hope. Who he would be is encapsulated in the idea of Emmanuel, meaning “God with us.”
Isn’t that the point of Christmas?
“O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.”- Lyrics from “O Come O Come Emmanuel”
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14, NIV)
It was God who initiated the salvation of His creation! Our Creator came to be with us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have…
