God With Us: Part 2
Let’s read the text again. Matthew 1:18-25 says:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
God with us: He comes at inconvenient times.
We already know that God comes to unexpected people. But what if I told you He also comes at inconvenient times? God is omniscient. This means He is all knowing. If God is all knowing, then there are two things He would have known in this account we read in Matthew. First, Matthew tells us that while “Mary was betrothed to Joseph” she found out that she would have a baby. That means God knew this announcement would come as a bit of a surprise to both Mary and Joseph. Secondly, He clearly knew that a census was about to be called and the people would have been required to go to their hometown. That means that God knew Mary would need to make the trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem while pregnant. Look, I’m not trying to question God’s motives here, but does that seem strange to anyone else? Let’s take these one at a time.
Mary is engaged to Joseph and finds out she is pregnant. I wonder if she thought through how she was going to break the news to Joseph. Was she worried about how he might respond? Would he believe her? Well, Matthew tells us that “Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” We know that Joseph changes his mind. But by doing so, he and Mary are together taking on the very likely consequence of being known as “that couple.” Either they had a baby out of wedlock, which was a no-no in their culture, or Mary was pregnant by some other man, which is also a big no-no. It really is a lose-lose situation here. How inconvenient of God, right? Mary is pregnant BEFORE the wedding. Welcome the public shame. But that isn’t all.
Mary must now travel, as a pregnant woman, from Nazareth to Bethlehem, without the comfort of Delta Airlines or a Honda Odyssey. Did I mention this journey was likely a four day journey on foot? Have you ever wondered why God chose this time? Thankfully Scripture does give us some answers. For one, there were prophecies that needed to be fulfilled. But there are other reasons that are probably more subtle. Those are kind of beside the point I am attempting to make, though. Because I am not simply trying to take note of all the things that were inconvenient. I am trying to point out the fact that “God with us” means that sometimes He comes at inconvenient times. The emphasis must be on “God with us,” not the inconvenient times. Yet, we must understand this reality because the same is true for us.
When God called us to the mission field, there were several things happening in our life. For one, we were living close to extended family for the first time in our married life. It was a really great season. Getting in the van as a family and spending a Friday night or Saturday afternoon with family was a blast. Our two kids at the time, Moriah and Isaiah, loved seeing their grandparents and aunts and uncles. Secondly, I was in the process of laying out a vision for a new church plant. There were influential people in my circle who were supportive of this potential endeavor. Doors were somewhat opening. It was hard for me to say no to this opportunity. And truthfully, some didn’t quite understand. But that is okay. Lastly, and this obviously came much later in the process, we found out we were pregnant with our third child, Eden, the day or two before moving to Sicily. Talk about inconvenient times. We had to leave extended family who we loved living close to. I had to give up a personal dream I had of a church plant. And we would not only have the natural struggles of immigration to a new country, but we would also need to figure out a birth plan in a new country on the fly.
Did I mention that God comes at inconvenient times?
It is true. But here is the good news: God is with us! Wow. This isn’t some silly phrase we can tell people who are in tough seasons to make them feel better. This is the God of the universe, in the person of Jesus, with us. Here. Now. Forever. Immanuel, God with us, for Mary and Joseph happened at a very inconvenient time. And truthfully, their lives were not easy. Ever read about the first few years of Jesus’ life? I’m not comparing our life to Mary and Joseph but ours isn’t easy either. Sure, Sicily can be beautiful in certain spots. But it is a hard place to live. The majority of what we have experienced so far has been difficult. Yet, God promised to be with Mary and Joseph. And He promises to be with us. Immanuel, God with us, is not just something we celebrate at Christmas. It is a moment by moment reality for those of us who are children of God. That is a truth worth holding onto.
So, next time God calls you to do something and it seems like an inconvenient time, don’t write it off just yet. It could very well be the thing that allows you to experience “God with you” in a very tangible way.
