“They will call him ‘Immanuel’-which means, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23

Every year, I look forward to placing one special ornament on our Christmas tree. It is not a spectacular ornament and it is not one of which my children take much notice. It is an ornament that reminds me of the significance and awe of the season. It is a small miniature book made into an ornament by Max Lucado years ago. The cover reads, “The First Great Moment.”

Lucado writes, ‘It all happened in a MOMENT, the most remarkable moment… like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man.” Paul writes in the Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Life is full of great moments! We can reminisce of walking across a stage after earning a college degree or walking the aisle to marry the person that we love. We can say, that was a great moment! Watching a son or daughter come home safely from deployment from serving overseas is a great moment. When a child or grandchild comes into the world, it is an unequivocally, great moment in our lives. Still, the greatest moment ever…was when God came near.

History is filled with a plethora of great moments. When Martin Luther nailed The Ninety-Five Theses to the Castle door in Wittenberg on the October 31st, 1517, it was a great moment. When the Puritans arrived in Plymouth in 1620, it was a great moment. The Great Awakenings in America were great moments in the spiritual history of our nation. Still, the greatest moment was when God came near.

But what if Christ had not come? What if the manger was empty? What if there were no angels proclaiming, no shepherds watching their flocks at night, and no wise men traveling from afar? What if God did not come near and there was no Great Moment? Martha Carmichael, in her poem If Christ Did Not Come captures the reality for all humanity if Christ did not come near.

If Jesus had not come,
How empty life would be;
No peace, no joy, no hope in time
Nor for eternity.
The guilt of all our sin
Could never be forgiven;
To live, to die, apart from God,
To have no hopes of heaven.

We can be glad and rejoice because Christ the Savior has come. The angels proclaim the greatest moment in the history of the world with these wonderful words, “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be for all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Life is full of great moments, but the greatest moment that God wants us to experience is that moment when we recognize our need for a Savior and receive the gift of His Son into our hearts and dwell in a relationship with Him. Everyone needs that great moment. Will God’s greatest moment be yours?

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