Merry Christmas: Don’t Forget The Shepherds!
Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who delight when they see the birth of Christ from the perspective of the shepherds. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The main character of any nativity scene is Jesus. Jesus was born, but the routine of those watching sheep by night was about to be changed.
There are shepherds in Christmas plays, nativity sets often include a shepherd, and outside Christmas nativity scenes can have a shepherd or two.
Luke 2:8-20 describes the part shepherds play as holy events unfold when Jesus was born.
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!’
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
In this section of Scripture we see shepherds go from being out in the field to glorifying and praising God.
Ponder the change these shepherds experienced and try to visualize you in their place.
Next time you see a shepherd, glorify and praise God like those shepherds at the time of Christ’s birth.
Tell me what you think in the comments below.
