Emmanuel

Picture the road to salvation as a narrow path with a ditch on both sides. When we first begin our walk, the road looks clean and simple. But as we continue toward Heaven, we start noticing things scattered down in the ditch. At first, they’re small—little items you’d assume someone accidentally dropped or had fall from their pocket.

But the farther we walk, the more surprising the items become. What once looked like forgettable pieces of trash now turn into things of real earthly value. A cell phone. A computer. A Lazy Boy chair. Even a 65" LED TV still playing the Super Bowl halftime show.

And you begin to wonder: Why are these things in the ditch? How did anyone even carry them this far?

This picture reminds us that as we walk with Jesus toward eternity, the farther we go, the less important the things of this world become. The items we once clung to—status, comfort, possessions, entertainment—slowly lose their grip on us. We start to see how temporary they are, and our desires shift toward what is eternal.

Scripture gives us a name that captures this truth: Immanuel (or Emmanuel), which means “God with us.” Whether spelled the Hebrew way or the Greek way, the message is the same: God Himself walks beside us. And as we allow Him to be present in every step of our journey, He fills us with the Peace we’ve been searching for.

With God with us, our hands become free—free from grasping for temporary things, and open to give as generously as we have received.

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