Have you seen the wind?

Emmanuel, God with us.

The buzz about the great windstorm we had a few weeks ago is only just starting to slow down. The farmer who sees his empty grain bin flattened in the neighbour’s pasture is reminded every day when he feeds his cows.  The home owner waiting for his roof to be repaired while listening to the blue tarp flapping around, is thinking about it daily. But for most of us it has become a memory.

We have other memories of the wind. On a hot summer day we enjoy a cool breeze coming down from the mountains while mowing the lawn.  In the fall we see the wind pick up our newly raked leaves, swirl them high in the air, and deposit them back in the yard.

The wind dries out the ground after the snow retreats, or brings heavy clouds to drop rain on the parched earth. A cold wind drives us indoors, and a warm wind finds us outside again in shorts. But we’ve never met the wind.

That’s how it is with God. There is evidence of His existence everywhere. He called the Israelites into fellowship with Him, but there was no one to shake hands with. So God sent Jesus into the world, so we can know Him.  That’s what Christmas is about.

 Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as the prophet Micah had foretold: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are little among the thousands of Judah,  out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." (Micah 5:2)

Jesus showed us God with flesh and bones.  He grew up in Nazareth, ate and drank with His family and played with His friends. Since He was also God He was master of the wind, the sea, all of nature. He bypassed the natural way of life by making wine from water, multiplying bread and fish, walking on the Sea of Galilee, healing the lame, and giving sight to the blind. He resuscitated His friend Lazarus, and resurrected His own body after His death on the cross.

Once we know Jesus,  we can never say that we don’t know God. Jesus said: “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) Jesus showed His love for the people He met in the miracles He did. God loves us, too and He wants to meet you. Our sins separate us from God, but if we believe that Jesus came to Bethlehem , and died to pay the price for our sin, we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

Hallelujah, what a Saviour!