Immanuel

The following in italic is an excerpt from Max Lucado’s An Angel’s Story, written from the perspective of the Angel Gabriel.

…My Father’s response was a pronouncement. “The time has come for the second gift.”

The frame beneath [Lucifer’s] cape bounced stiffly as he chuckled. “The second gift, eh? I hope it works better than the first.”

“You’re disappointed with the first?” asked the Father.

“Oh, quite the contrary; I’ve delighted in it.” Lifting a bony finger, he spelled a word in the air: C-H-O-I-C-E. “You gave Adam his choice,” Satan scoffed. “And what a choice he made! He chose me. Ever since the fruit was plucked from the tree in the Garden, I’ve held your children captive. They fell. Fast. Hard. They are mine. You have failed. Heh-heh-heh.”

“You speak so confidently,” replied the Father, astounding me with His patience.

Lucifer stepped forward, his cloak dragging behind him. “Of course! I thwart everything You do! You soften hearts, I harden them. You teach truth, I shadow it. You offer joy, I steal it.”

He pivoted and paraded around the room, boasting of his deeds. “The betrayal of Joseph by his brothers—I did that. Moses banished to the desert after killing the Egyptian—I did that. David watching Bathsheba bathe—that was me. You must admit, my work has been crafty.”

“Crafty? Perhaps. But effective? No. I know what you will do before you do it. I used the betrayal of Joseph to deliver my people from famine. Your banishment of Moses became his wilderness training. And yes, David did commit adultery with Bathsheba—but he repented of his sin! And thousands have been inspired by his example and found what he found—unending grace. Your deceptions have only served as platforms for My mercy. You are still my servant, Satan. When will you learn? Your feeble attempts to disturb My work only enable My work. Every act you have intended for evil, I have used for good.”

Satan began to growl—a throaty, guttural, angry growl. Softly at first, then louder, until the room was filled with a roar that must have quaked the foundations of hell.

But the King was not bothered. “Feeling ill?”

Lucifer lurked around the room, breathing loudly, searching for words to say and a shadow from which to say them. He finally found the words to say and a shadow from which to say them. “Show me, O King of Light, show me one person on the Earth who always does right and obeys Your will.”

“Dare you ask? You know there need be only one perfect one, only one sinless one to die for all the others.”

“I know Your plans—and You have failed! No Messiah will come from Your people. There is not one who is sinless. Not one.” He turned his back to the desk an began naming the children. “Not Moses. Not Abraham. Not Lot. Not Rebekah. Not Elijah…”

The Father stood up from His throne, releasing a wave of holy Light so intense that Lucifer staggered backward and fell. “Those are my children you mock,” God’s voice boomed. “You think you know much, fallen angel, but you know little. Your mind dwells in the valley of self. Your eyes see no further than your needs.”

The King walked over and reached for the book. He turned it toward Lucifer and commanded, “Come, Deceiver, read the name of the One who will call your bluff. Read the name of the One who will storm your gates.”

Satan rose slowly off his haunches. Like a wary wolf, he walked a wide circle toward the desk until he stood before the volume and read the word: “Immanuel?” he muttered to himself, then spoke in a tone of disbelief. “God with us?” For the first time the hooded head turned squarely toward the face of the Father. “No. Not even You would do that. Not even You would go so far.”

“You’ve never believed me, Satan.”

“But Immanuel?” The plan is bizarre! You don’t know what it is like on Earth! You don’t know how dark I’ve made it. It’s putrid. It’s evil. It’s…”

“It is MINE,” proclaimed the King. “And I will reclaim what is mine. I will become flesh. I will feel what my creatures feel. I will see what they see.”

“But what of their sin?”

“I will bring mercy.”

“What of their death?”

“I will give life.”

Satan stood speechless.

God spoke, “I love my children. Love does not take away the beloved’s freedom. But love does take away fear. And Immanuel will leave behind a tribe of fearless children. They will not fear you or your hell.”

Satan stepped back at the thought. His retort was childish. “Th-th-they will too!”

“I will take away all sin. I will take away all death. Without sin and without death, you have no power.”

Around and around in a circle Satan paced, clenching and unclenching his wiry fingers. When he finally stopped, he asked a question that even I was thinking. “Why? Why would You do this?”

The Father’s voice was deep and soft. “Because I love them.”

The two stood facing each other. Neither spoke. The extremes of the universe were before me. God robed in Light, each thread glowing. Satan canopied in evil, the very fabric of his robe seeming to crawl. Peace contrasting panic. Wisdom confronting foolishness. One able to rescue, the other anxious to condemn.

I have reflected much on what happened next. Though I have relived the moment countless times, I’m as stunned as I was at the first. Never in my wildest thoughts did I think my Kind would do what He did. Had He demanded Satan’s departure, who would have questioned? Had He taken Satan’s life, who would have grieved? Had He called me to attack, I would have been willing. But God did none of these.

From the circle of Light came His extended hand. From His throne came an honest invitation. “Will you surrender? Will you return to me?”

I do not know the thoughts of Satan. But I believe that for a fleeting second the evil heart softened. The head cocked slightly, as if amazed that such an offer would be made. But then it yanked itself erect.

“Where will we battle?” he challenged.

The father sighed at the dark angel’s resistance. “On a hill called Calvary.”

“If you make it that far.” Satan smirked, spinning and marching out the entryway. I watched as his spiny wings extended, and he soared into the heavenlies.

The Father stood motionless for a moment, and then turned back to the book. Opening to the final chapter, He slowly read words I had never heard. No sentences. Just words. Saying each, then pausing. “Jesus. Nail. Cross. Blood. Tomb. Life.”

He motioned toward me, and I responded, kneeling again before Him. Handing me the necklace, He explained, “This vial will contain the essence of myself; a Seed to be placed in the womb of a young girl. Her name is Mary. She lives among my chosen people. The fruit of the Seed is the Son of God. Take it to her.”

“But how will I know her?” I asked.

“Don’t worry. You will.”

I could not comprehend God’s plan, but my understanding was not essential. My obedience was. I lowered my head and He draped the chain around my neck. Amazingly, the vial was no longer empty. It glowed with Light.

“Jesus. Tell her to call My Son Jesus.”

-Excerpt from An Angel’s Story by Max Lucado


The days leading up to Christmas this year seemed laden with the contrast of heaviness and blessing. It was easy to see God’s goodness. But, it was also easy to see the difficulties of life—of those hurting, of those confused, of those searching. Over and over again, I kept being drawn back to God’s sovereignty…that in all this, He knows. In all this, He will use for good. All this pain, He can redeem. There were a few looking to me for counsel. In it, I felt the overwhelming need to encourage them to turn to Jesus. To allow Him to show them that He knows, and He understands. To remind them that even when there are no answers at the present, there can still be peace. To allow Him to give them hope even when it’s hard to hold on to any.

Jesus. Such a name greater than all names. Such a Savior in a world broken, and laden with pain.

I read the above excerpt a few days before Christmas, and it took my breath away. We do not know exactly what happened in the planning and giving of a Savior, but we do know the Father’s heart, and what was written by Max Lucado captures it so beautifully, I feel.

We do live in a broken world. It is hard to see the light at times, especially when Satan’s schemes so often succeed. But, it is easy to forget that God allows Satan’s schemes, and He will use them for His good. And more so than that—He has always had a plan for redemption.

Immanuel. God with us.

He would send Himself into this world, to become flesh. To feel what His creatures feel. To see what we see. He would bring mercy and light.

And more so, He knew that coming into this world through a pure virgin, taking on flesh, meant an eventual painful death on the cross on a hill called Calvary. Satan would battle there too. But God would be ultimately victorious.

This…it is so profound to know that there is a God who loves us to battle and sacrifice Himself on our behalf. To know that the plan existed before time, and started its process in the body of an infant child, meek and mild…of the Father and destined to conquer sin for all.

And this…this we must remember and carry with us, not just today but always…that though Satan wars still, through Jesus, we can be victorious. All can be used for His good. The Father has been and always will be, a Sovereign God. Satan ultimately does not have power that the Father does not allow. Let us keep in mind and heart, now and forever...that to Satan, God essentially speaks, “I love my children. Love does not take away the beloved’s freedom. But love does take away fear. And Immanuel will leave behind a tribe of fearless children. They will not fear you or your hell.”