Jesus the Companion
It's Christmas! And may it be a blessed day for you and yours. I pray that you will write Jesus into your story today, as the main character - as Saviour, and as Lord, and also as companion.
In Matthew's Gospel, he is explaining how the angel came to speak to Joseph and convince him to not divorce Mary, and Matthew says this: "All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')." (Matthew 1:22-23)
God with us. Christmas is a reminder that the great God who offers salvation and Lordship offers to be a companion. No longer is God a big man in the sky, watching us from a distance (apologies to Cliff Richard!)
The Doctor Who Came Near
Imagine, would you, a renowned doctor who has spent years researching a cure for a devastating disease. Her laboratory is filled with cutting-edge technology, and her discoveries have saved countless lives from afar. Yet, she hears about a small, remote hospital overwhelmed by an outbreak of this very disease. The patients are not only suffering physically but are losing hope, feeling abandoned and forgotten.
The doctor could easily send her medicines and instructions, trusting the hospital staff to carry out her plans. But she knows that the situation requires more than a clinical response - it requires presence, understanding, and love. So, she makes a radical decision: she leaves her state-of-the-art facility, packs up her supplies, and moves into the overcrowded, under-resourced hospital.
When she arrives, she doesn't demand special treatment. She doesn't ask for a private room or a team of assistants. Instead, she dons the same scrubs as the other workers and moves into a modest dormitory near the hospital. She eats the same food as the patients, walks the same grimy hallways, and even sleeps in the ward to be close to those who need her most.
At first, the patients don't recognise her. To them, she's just another caregiver. But over time, they begin to see something extraordinary. She doesn't just treat their symptoms - she listens to their stories, comforts their fears, and offers them hope. She becomes one of them, sharing in their suffering, their struggles, and their joys. Her very presence begins to heal wounds that medicine alone cannot touch.
One day, someone asks her why she left her prestigious career to come to such a humble, broken place. She smiles and says, "Because I couldn't heal you fully from a distance. I needed to be with you, to show you that you're not alone, and that your life is worth everything to me."
You Didn't Want Heaven Without Us
Jesus came because He couldn't stand the distance. In the words of one of our favourite worship songs:
“He didn't want heaven without us so He brought heaven down!”
Jesus entered the Christmas Story as the Healer who would not stay safe at a distance, but would come and be with His people.
And friends, He longs to enter our stories in the same way. Not just as a distant Saviour or a King and Lord that we obey coldly and impersonally, but as a companion. As the one who lives and walks with us day by day.
Does Jesus fill the pages of your story?
Christmas is only Christmas if you put Him at the centre and walk with Him through it all.
A very blessed and merry Christmas to each of you, my friends. May He be at the centre of it all for you!
A blessed Christmas to you! Embrace Jesus into your Christmas story today, as your great Companion.