God Finds Us

Read 2 Samuel 7:1-17

How does that make you feel to hear God has already FOUND YOU?  

We spend so much time searching for God, wrestling with our doubts, waiting for a sure sign that God is indeed real.  People thousands of years ago also searched and wondered.  Jesus shows up on the scene saying he is the Son of God and that God’s kingdom is here.  What a sign this was!  But it wasn’t enough.  Priests and Jewish elders denied what was in front of them and kept searching, waiting.  They spent lots of time in the Temple believing that was where God could be found – it was their breadbox.

It isn’t surprising that David wanted to build a Temple, a structure grand enough for God to reside.  Have you ever visited a European cathedral?  The architecture is magnificent and when stepping inside the air seems different.  There is a stillness that can be felt to the very tips of your fingers and toes.  Is it because God resides there?

Yes, God does reside there.  AND God resides everywhere you have gone and everywhere you will go.  In the birth of baby Jesus, we discover this reality.  Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.  Imanu'el (Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל "God [is] with us" consists of two Hebrew words: אֵל (’El, meaning 'God') and עִמָּנוּ (ʻImmānū, meaning 'with us').  Baby Jesus grows up, with a father and a mother, brothers and sisters, just like you and me.  Jesus experiences sorrow, endures ridicule and hurt, goes to parties, celebrates friends and looks after family.  Jesus also declares God’s enduring presence and teaches us how to live out our faith through love for God and love for our neighbor.  God has not only FOUND YOU and me.  God, in Jesus Christ, has entered into humanity and defeats death at the cross with a resurrection to new life.  Then promises the same for us!

God finds us, never forsakes us and brings us home, to dwell in the fullness of God’s love forever.