Luke 2:8-15 That night some
shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of
sheep. Suddenly, and angel of the Lord
appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel
reassured them, “Don’t be afraid!” he
said. “I bring you good news of great
joy for everyone! The Savior---yes, the
Messiah, the Lord---has been born tonight in Bethlehem the city of
David! And this is how you will
recognize him: You will find a baby
lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast
host of others---the armies of heaven---praising God: “Glory to God in the
highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the
shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has
happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
There are a lot of things we can observe from this miraculous
night of our Savior’s birth. The night
started out like any other night; the shepherds were watching over their sheep,
protecting them from any potential predators and from wandering away. They were not expecting anything unusual in
the night; they were simply occupying.
The Lord often shows up in our lives when we are just doing what we
normally do, living out our lives humbly before Him.
When the angel from heaven appeared in the night sky, the
shepherds were terrified. Who can blame
them? Many times when the Lord speaks,
we become frightened. We don’t know what
is coming next.
The message that the angel brought to the shepherds was good news,
great news, generous news and grand news.
Jesus, the promised Messiah, had come!
It was news of great joy for everyone.
It was the best news that man had ever heard. It was news for all the ages; Christ the Savior
was born! They were told where to find
Him and how they would find Him.
It that was not enough to forever change the shepherds’ lives, the
angel was joined by the angelic choir singing the praises of our Immanuel,
Jesus our Lord. The shepherds were left
speechless. Who could blame them? They hurriedly left and went into town to find
the Christ child. When they found Him,
they went and told everybody they could what had happened and who they
found. I wonder, how often we get so
excited by what the Lord says to us that we just are compelled to go and tell
others about it?
I am intrigued by this part of the Christmas story. Were the shepherds the only ones who say the
angel, the angelic host, or heard their message? Scripture says that the glory of God filled
the sky. I would think that everyone for
miles around would have seen the sight, but we are not told that they did. And if they did, why aren’t we told that a
great crowd of people filled the streets of Bethlehem in search of the Christ
child? You would think that this was an
event that would have forever changed all who were in town that night.
Yet, we are told that later on Herod and the religious leaders in
the land did not know Jesus had been born.
When the magi showed up two years later, they were caught off guard and
had to inquire about it.
Let us be very careful that we don’t miss the wondrous signs the
Lord gives us. Just like signs preceded
His first coming, there are many signs given that are preceding His second
coming. God is giving us plenty of signs
to prepare us for His coming. Are you
paying attention? Are you ready? Jesus will come again like a thief in the
night; no one knows when, but I believe it will be very soon. Don’t be like those in Jesus’ day who missed
the signs announcing His birth. Live
each day in readiness and you won’t be left behind.
The Magi came from the east, to find the Christ child. We know the Magi as wise men, astrologers and even the three kings. Today, little countenance is given to astrologers ability to associate planetary movement and star signs with events in our lives...but perhaps we offer more latitude when it comes to faith. The Magi certainly had faith, and made ours greater, with or without the stars. But - what if they had come from MUCH farther away, perhaps even the very stars they claim to read for us? What would this tell us of the God they seek, that so many here ignore? Perhaps this amazing event awaits us... not long from now. You see, to them, WE would be the aliens, and it would be OUR God that they seek. We examine this at www.sftag.net. the original MAGI are worth a second look also - http://www.chapeldulcinea.org/why-did-the-wise-men-come-from/
ReplyDeleteInteresting spin, but we must be careful that we don't go beyond the Biblical record. Anything we surmise beyond what is given is merely speculation and sometimes our speculations lead us into false doctrine.
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