Jesus Gave Seekers All They Ever Sought

What Did Jesus Do?

…and they shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23

How would you complete this sentence, “All I want for Christmas is _____________”? The children’s song says “my two front teeth,” but what do you say? Do the internet ads from Land’s End, Verizon Wireless, and Wal-Mart, or other retailers supply your answer? Or, perhaps, it’s on the television, where it’s Lexus, or Zales, or some other purveyor of high-end merchandise who has what you want to fill out your Christmas list? If it came down to one thing, and one thing only, that you could have for Christmas, what would it be? Just over two thousand years ago, on the first Christmas, God gave himself to the world in the person of the Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Sadly, the gift wasn’t what many people wanted, even though it was what they needed. But, for a few, for those seekers who sought God with all their heart, Jesus was the perfect gift—Immanuel, God in the midst of us, God with us.


Here’s the real question, and the answer is only found in our heart, “Is God, and God alone, enough for us?” If that’s hard for us to deal with, perhaps we could work our way up to this most important question. Let’s start with something else shall we? How about this, “Husbands, is your wife enough for you?” Not your wife’s cooking. Not her housekeeping. Not her looks. “Husbands, do you simply delight in and love your wife?” Now, ladies, “Wives, is your husband enough?” Not your husband’s career. Not his strength. Not his BMW. “Wives, do you simply delight in and love your husband?” And children, it’s your turn. “Boys and girls, are your parents enough for you?" Not the designer clothes they give you. Not the video game system they buy you. Not the allowance they put in your wallet. “Children, do you delight in and love your parents?” Ok, maybe we’re ready now. Everyone, “Is God enough for us? Do we delight in and love God? Or is it the gifts that we truly desire, and not the giver?”

You see, all the shepherds found when they got to Bethlehem was a baby. Same thing for the wise men who had traveled many miles following a star. No fine palace. No stately king. No sign whatsoever of any material wealth or power. Just a baby. But for wholehearted seekers of God, that baby, Immanuel, was everything they had ever sought.

The question for us remains, in 2011, what one thing, or person, fills in the blank in that sentence? What, or who, is all we want for Christmas? Is God, in the person of Jesus, enough for us? In Jesus, in Immanuel, the Father has given his children all we need, now and forever. But each of us must search our own heart to determine whether or not Jesus is all we want. If it is truly God alone whom we desire, then the gift of the Son is enough. If not, then it is certain that, regardless of whatever else we may ever get for Christmas, it will never be enough for us, we will never be satisfied, we will always want more.

It is beyond all doubt that, if we seek God with all our heart, the Father will lead us to Immanuel, and we will discover, in Jesus, all we’ve ever sought.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4