14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, ESV)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18–25, ESV)

One might be forgiven for doing a double take at the naming of baby Jesus at the first Christmas. Nearly eight hundred years before he lay in the manger, an Israelite prophet named Isaiah foretold that the Christ would be born of a virgin, and his name would be called Immanuel. This baby was the long-awaited savior, the one who would crush the insidious serpent figure revealed in the garden of Eden at the dawn of time, the one who would deliver humankind from darkness and death forever, the one who would vanquish all evil and blanket the earth with his goodness as the waters cover the sea (Is. 11:9, Mic. 4:1-2). He is the hope of the defenseless, the avenger of the abused, and the lifter of our heads. He grants mercy to every generation that fears him and fills the hungry with good things. He scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts and brings down the mighty from their thrones (Luke 1:46-56). Until his justice triumphs, a bruised reed he does not break and a smoldering wick he does not quench (Matt. 12:20). When he comes in glory, he will destroy all injustice, all greed, and all mistreatment of men and women made in the image of God. He will set the natural world free from its bondage to corruption, renewing and giving it glorious freedom from death and decay (Rom. 8:20-21, NLT). He is the one who makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).

But when he was born, Mary and Joseph did not name him Immanuel, as Isaiah said, but Jesus, as the angel of God commanded. Do not be alarmed—there was no mistake—Jesus is his name, and Immanuel is his nature. His name, Jesus, points to his mission to save. His title, Immanual, reveals his identity as God stepping into our world to work that salvation. The word Immanuel means "God with us," and when Jesus was born, God took up humanity and became one of us so that, truly, God was with us. The God who had met Adam and Eve in the garden before they rebelled against him was with us. The God who gave Moses the law on the mountain before his people turned on him was with us. The God who developed the Tabernacle system so that he could meet with his people—people who defiled or neglected that Tabernacle so often—was with us. The God who sanctioned the permanent temple in Jerusalem so that nations could find holy ground to enjoy him was with us. The God whom humanity perpetually stiffened their necks and hardened their faces against was with us. He would not be stopped. God has always sought to dwell with his people—in the garden, the tabernacle, and the temple. But in Jesus, God took an even greater step, becoming one of us to be with us forever. And his prophets promised this day would come. God would break in entirely—God with us.

But this Christmas, we must know that his arrival was not enough for him. He has never been content to merely dwell among us. The Bible tells us that "when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' (Gal. 4:4–6). What I mean to highlight here is that he came to dwell among us so that we would receive his invitation, giving him permission to dwell within us, in our very hearts. God conspired to send his Son for our great benefit and salvation so that he might bring us back into his family through adoption. His mission is to put the very Spirit of his Son into our hearts, causing us—humans who have had a great capacity for resisting him and his perfect love—to instead rush toward him with affection. The same title Jesus gave to his Father when he prayed as a man—Abba, which is Aramaic for something like Papa—is the way we are meant to feel about God because the Spirit of the Son is now within his people. What this means is that the entire Triune God wants to welcome you into a glorious relationship—dare I say, familial closeness—with him. The Father, Son, and Spirit have produced the Christmas story, not for sentimentalism or to warm the northern hemisphere's dark winter but to bring you and me into the glad fellowship the Triune God had before time began.

But even this familial closeness with us is not enough for him. The Bible portrays Jesus as being born into a dark world filled with oppression, subjection, sickness, and sorrow. And while it is true that this advancing God goes so far as to advance into living within his people, we are not his final destination. His ultimate purpose is greater still. He does not merely dwell within us amid all our darkness. He will advance even further, and one day consume all the darkness and unite everything into himself. He will not become all things, but all things will be united to him (Eph. 1:10). There will not be one square inch of rebellion to his perfect, good, and beautiful purpose when that ultimate and final move arrives. On that day, this advancing God will get his garden back, and we will enjoy him forever. God will truly be with us. This advancing God is what Christmas is all about. Christmas is the story of divine love overflowing into our broken world, advancing toward us.

One day, Jesus was eating a meal with the humble and rejected of his society, the kinds of people no one throws a parade for or thinks highly about. The rule makers of his day challenged him—why do you eat with such people? And Jesus responded with three stories. In the first story, a shepherd lost one of his hundred sheep, so he left the ninety-nine under safekeeping to search until he found the one who was lost. When the shepherd found his lost sheep, he called friends and family to celebrate with him because his lost sheep had been found. In the middle story, a woman lost one of her ten silver coins, a tenth of all her money, so she lit a lamp and grabbed her broom, searching the whole house until the lost coin was found. When she found it, she responded like the shepherd did and invited friends and neighbors to a celebration. In the last story, a wealthy father gave an early inheritance to his rebellious son, who quickly squandered all his wealth before returning home in shame and embarrassment. The father rejoiced because his son, who was lost and as good as dead, was alive, so he threw him a massive banquet in celebration. In like manner, the Son of God came to find every lost member of his flock, the Spirit of God searches for people he values more than any silver coin, and the Father runs to every wayward son on his horizon. The entirety of who God is—Father, Son, and Spirit—are advancing to rescue and find and reunite with us. And when even one of us is found, there is a breakout of joy in the spiritual dimension. Jesus said, "There is joy in heaven before the angels of God when one sinner repents—they were dead, but are alive, they were lost but are found" (Luke 15:7, 10, 32, paraphrase mine).

This brings us to the how of it all. Baby Jesus, God with us, grew to the full stature of manhood to die for us. In his cross, he became the satisfactory way for us to be forgiven, cleansed, washed, and adopted by God. God's desire and plan to advance toward us and renew all things hinged upon Jesus' crucifixion—his death leads to the abundance of life for everyone who trusts his name. And the Spirit, who knows the heart and mind of God, is calling each of us to surrender to that name, a name established at the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He is, this Christmas, through the story of the first Christmas, calling us all home to God. This Christmas, God is still advancing toward you. He is calling you to receive his invitation—to welcome his love into your heart. Will you let him bring you home?