All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).

Matthew 1:22-23

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’). Studies have shown that people from rural communities want more personal space than those from densely populated cities – stand too close and they will back away. This became very real for me when I moved to Birmingham where no-one (from my perspective) would stay far enough away for me to feel comfortable. I adapted over time and no longer find myself with my back against the wall during every conversation I have.

Of course, whatever your background, there are usually people you quite like being close to – parents, children, your partner, or a special friend.

The Bible calls Jesus, Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.’ The question is, how close would you like Him to be? As with people, it depends how comfortable you are with being in His company.

John, one of the Jesus’s closest friends, wrote this in a letter to some fellow Christians, “God is love”. He also said, “This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as
sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Sin is simply failing to live up to God’s standards. I don’t know anyone who manages to live up to their own standards all the time, let alone God’s. He sent Jesus into the world to pay the price for our failure. That is ultimate love – giving your life up for someone else. But because Jesus was perfect, death couldn’t hold on to Him and He rose from the dead.

Now we don’t have to be far away from God and his love. As John also said in the same letter, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God,
and God in them.”

The God who is love can live in you, closer even than your own breath. The only thing that prevents this, is not accepting that Jesus paid the price for your sin.
You could talk to God saying something like this:

God, I want to be close to you. I know that I don’t live up to your standards, but I believe Jesus died
for me. Please come and live in me and let me experience your love.

Written by Lynda Scotson.