The wonder of a God who wants to be with us

Recently, I've been sharing a devotion during my visits that is titled, "Taking Christmas with Us." It's based on Mary pondering everything in her heart rather than just going on from one thing to the next and forgetting the lasting significance of what the Lord is doing. In other words, it's easy to get caught up in the emotions of the moment and then lose the wonder of God dwelling among us to be our Savior and lead us through this life as our Good Shepherd until we get to the Father's house where we shall dwell forever.

In this weekend's Gospel reading from Matthew 4 we'll hear about Jesus calling His first disciples to follow Him. What's interesting is that in last weekend's Gospel reading from John 1, we heard about the first time some of them came in contact with Him. In other words, there was a "mulling over" period for them so that when Jesus came to them and said, "Follow Me," they did not resist the Holy Spirit's urging but immediately left everything and went. Being with Jesus was now all that mattered.

But when you think about it, the message we celebrated at Christmas and which we rejoice in each time we gather for worship is that what matters to God is that we are with Him. When He created human beings, He created us to be with Him in a loving, living relationship that would also express itself in our relationships with others. But then humans fell into sin, and our desire to constantly be with God eroded. The effects of that sin and broken relationships with others is all too evident.

Which is why being like Mary and taking Christmas with us as we continue to ponder the wonder of God's love for us in Christ Jesus is so important. Rather than looking at God as one who would simply instruct us about morals and urge us to drop any bad habits, we ponder the wonder of a God who wants to be with us, the Holy Spirit calling us through Word and Sacrament to faith and a life of love, joy, and peace that results from always wanting to be with Jesus.

And that's why we gather for worship isn't it? God calls us, "Come to Me," and we respond, "Where else would I rather be? Thank You!"