Emmanuel: God With Us...God Still Coming

Emmanuel.


God with us.


My favorite Christmas song of all-time is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". I absolutely love the song. Even more than the rhythym of the song and the E-minor chords - I love the words. There is a beautiful message behind the words that paints a deeper picture of God as Emmanuel.

"O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel...
...
Rejoice, rejoice,Emmanuel
will come for thee,O, Israel..."

Emmanuel means 'God with us', but this song talks about Emmanuel still coming, as well. It highlights the intracacies of a God who is with us and still coming to be with us. It portrays a Savior who is both already with us and who is still coming for us. A God who is with us yet still coming - Emmanuel.

But why would this be a good thing? How does this even make sense?There is a certain hope that resides with God, a hope that causes rejoicing. Even right now in 2008, God is with us. Yet He is still coming, as well. We rejoice in His constant presence in our lives now, and we rejoice that He is still coming one day to take us with Him. There is a constant comfort in His daily presence and a perpetual hope for His eventual return.

When Christ came to us on that blessed Christmas morning, things did not end there. God was with us, but God was still coming, too. Thus, we can sing just like the Israelites "O come, O come, Emmanuel...". We can ask God to come even though He is the God who is 'with us'. He is always on the move, and He is always where He needs to be.

I know it might not all make sense. But I know that we serve a wonderfully beautiful and mysterious God - a God who is both creative and practical. A God who hears our prayers. A God who comes. A God who is here. A God who is still coming.

Emmanuel - God with us. Emmanuel - God still coming.

Rejoice.

Response to Treasure Valley Christian Newspaper

Recently, I had an email conversation with the editor of the Treasure Valley Christian Newspaper. The editor put a response to some of the things that I wrote in the newspaper last time. I just became aware of this, and I wanted to post a response. So I am going to post this response on the blog and send it to the editor as well (wow, that was way too much background info). Anyways, I think that this is a great example of The Middle Road.

"Hello,

The final statement that you made in your response was really disappointing, to be honest. You stated that 'the Emergent Church is too 'new agey' for me, I'll stick with the basica good old Bible believing church with wonderful hymns, altar calls, and all'.

This final statement, your whole response, and the majority of the response from church leaders insinuates that the Emergent Church is not Bible believing. This is an extremely unfair statement and deduction. You cannot blanket a movement that is not fully formed underneath one banner. On top of that you really cannot blanket a movement with something that is not true. I still cannot believe that you would disrespect another segment of the church so much as to not even give it the chance to reach its potential. Your response is similar to the response of an unfortunate amount of the Church in general, and it is unfair to the Emergent Church for you to slander its reputation by misleading people into thinking that they don't believe in the Bible.

But really, the worst part for me is that you do not value the Church in general enough to give the Emergent Church even a fair shot. It is not like a "porcupine" (ridiculous analogy that really doesn't make reasoned sense, by the way). The Emergent Church is like a teenager. It might not be the most perfect thing right now, but you don't just give up on it. You nurture it. You help it along. You aid it until it achieves its potential. The Emergent Church is not a porcupine that should be avoided, but it is like a teenager that has potential but needs people to help it along.

And it disappoints me (and many others) that you and other Church leaders are giving up on the Emergent Church. Why can't we find the Middle Road that we can all walk on together? Why do we have to be against each other? The Emergent Church is something that can help this next generation to connect with Christ. It already is helping younger people find Christ.

The Emergent Church is not perfect, but it is a tool that can be used to connect a generation with God. How effective of a tool can it be? This depends on the encouragement that it receives from leaders like yourself. And that is why I am really disappointed with your response to me and to the Emergent Church.

And I hope that you will view the Emergent Church as more of a teenager that needs your guidance rather than a 'porcupine' that needs your avoidance.

Thanks."