The Shepherd’s Story
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” ~ Luke 2:10-12;14As soon as the angels returned to heaven the shepherds began to speak to each other…
…“Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. ~ Luke 2:15
With the angel’s words still ringing in their ears the shepherds left the fields and went on a journey to find this child about whom the angel spoke.
How trusting were those shepherds. They received the angel’s message about the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord. They acted upon it and went to see the Christ child, God’s precious gift to us.
I admire those shepherds who without evidence believed the angel’s message about a Savior. They then left their busy lives to go and see the Savior that the angel talked about. With the physical eyes they saw a little baby boy lying in a manger but by eyes of faith they saw a Savior. What I also like about those shepherds is that they didn’t keep the news to themselves.
Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ~ Luke 2:17-18
Proving that you cannot have an encounter with Jesus and remain unchanged, the shepherds returned to the fields glorifying and praising God. Physically nothing had changed. Their jobs may have still been, tiring, boring or difficult. They may have faced problems at home that were still there to greet them when they got back. However, inside they were different. I’m sure for the rest of their lives they held the experience of meeting the baby Jesus close to their hearts.
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. ~ Luke 2:20
My desire this Christmas season and beyond is to be more like those shepherds, to be more focused on Him, to share more about Him with others, to daily see changes that He works in me as I spend more time with Him.
Luke 2 is my favorite version of the Christmas story. When I write Christmas articles somehow I usually end up using that chapter as my main focus. This is an old article that I tweaked a bit but it still expresses the awe I feel reading this story about God’s precious gift of His son.
I agree with you Bernadine; the shepherds story is truly amazing. They believed without seeing, and went to see the Savior.
I hope that you and yours have a peaceful and joyous Christmas.