“Now in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night…. 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’” Most of us have heard this… in church, on TV from Linus, in Sunday School, in passing… What we have here is a group of patient men, who sat on the same hills their grandfathers had sat upon, watching the stars and talking that night; tending to their flocks as they had done so many times before – and then God came down. The Shepherds remind us how God comes to mankind. God is the seeker. God is the initiator. And the shepherds were there, willing to listen and act. God can save the most distant, defiled and outcast Here is what they did. They Listened to God when He speaks. What a wonderful but fearful sight they saw. Yet they did not ignore what they witnessed; they did not run away from what they saw; they did not refuse to hear what the angels said. They Came to God like they were. Instead of backing away with any excuse… something many do when it comes to God… they responded. There was no time to be someone else. They Responded to God at once. They didn’t doubt, they didn’t disagree, they didn’t question, they didn’t hesitate. They just heard and responded -- and they were first to see Jesus. They Sought Jesus until they found Him. Luke uses terms to help us realize that they had to search for Him until they could find Him – and they did. They took what God had given them… hear that (read it again).. They did not ask for more before seeking Him, and they searched without giving up. They Told everyone they could the Good News. Just like the rest of the New Testament would record – these shepherds went back to their old jobs – AS NEW MEN.. speaking and living as those NEW MEN. Now this Christmas time, will you be a shepherd? Will you experience the glad tidings of the Gospel? Do you have His great joy?
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 12:34:06 +0000
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