Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. -Isaiah 7:14

This name, meaning “God with us,” given to Jesus by the Old Testament prophet is so weighty to me. Emmanuel, God with us. And this painting is one of my favorite Christmas decorations! But Emmanuel means more than a baby in a manger; although it does mean that too. To me, Emmanuel means that the very God who knit me together and hurled the planets into motion, is with me now. My protector, my provider, my Father, my deliverer, my hope, my King–He is with me. He is with me at home, at work, at the dreaded dentist when I’m about to faint. He is with me in hard conversations, in overwhelming moments, and in the times that make me want to do cartwheels too. There is and never will be a moment that He is not with me.

This week, the collision of holiday decorating with my reading in Mark 15 has led me to wonder at the cost of the name Emmanuel. Here’s a chilling excerpt I read this morning, from just before Jesus died:

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) -Mark 15:33-34

God turned His back on His own Son, punishing Christ for the sins of the world, so that I might always be able to call Him “Emmanuel.” God left Jesus’s side in order that I could stand beside Him, so that I could be with Him. Christ’s sacrifice was enough to overcome my shortfalls, my indifference, my rebellion. He went to the cross without God so that I might forever be with God. So that I could rejoice in that name. Emmanuel, God with us.