READ: MATTHEW 1:23; JOHN 1:1-18; ROMANS 5:6-11

Over two thousand years ago, Jesus was born. God became human and lived on earth with other humans. Stop for a moment and think about that. Isn’t that amazing? The One who was present at the beginning of time—the One who created all things, including humans—came down to His creation and experienced it as a human…because He loves us.

Jesus grew up with the people around Him. He went through puberty, had younger siblings, and even experienced betrayal. How amazing is that? Out of His great love for us, our God experienced a human life like us. But let’s not forget Jesus is also fully God, and He had a special purpose in His life, ministry, death, and resurrection here on earth.

Jesus came to rescue the world from sin and death, because when the first humans rejected God and sinned against Him, we became separated from our loving Creator. But God wants us to be with Him again. Though sin is like a chasm between us and God, Jesus became the bridge between humankind and God so that there would be no separation between the two.

And Jesus is the only One who could close that gap because He is both fully God and fully human. Jesus never sinned, and He didn’t deserve any of the punishment for sin, but He took it all upon Himself…because He loves us. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He made the atoning sacrifice for our sin so that He could restore us to relationship with Himself. Now, everyone who puts their trust in Jesus is brought near to God. As Christians, we can know that God is with us here and now, and we also get to look forward to the day Jesus will return bodily to earth. Then sin and death will be no more, and we will live with God in restored creation!

One of Jesus’s names is Immanuel, which means “God with us,” and that’s exactly who Jesus is. He is God, and He is also human like us. And because Jesus came to be with us, now everyone who puts their trust in Jesus gets to be with God— forever. • Naomi Zylstra

• When you think about Jesus being both fully human and fully God, which one is harder for you to wrap your mind around? Consider taking a moment to talk to Him about this. While there are some things we may never fully understand, God invites us to question and wrestle with Him.

• When you have questions about who Jesus is or about being brought near to God, who are trusted Christians in your life you can talk to? (You can also find out more on our “Know Jesus” page.)

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).” Matthew 1:23 (NIV)