Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Anticipating Christ: The Shepherd’s Story

Yesterday we were talking about the humble birth of Christ, and this kind of goes along with that, but in a different way. Not only did Jesus have a humble birth, but His birth was announced by one of the lowest groups of people in society’s eyes.

In Biblical times, shepherds were not looked on very highly. They spent all of their time with livestock, and because of this they were kind of loners…..didn’t really have a family or a group of friends. Their clothes were not very expensive, but were functional instead. And worst of all, they smelled. Really bad. I mean, they lived with their sheep, and sheep aren’t exactly the best smelling animals ever. Just saying.

So not only did Jesus have a humble start to His life, but His birth was announced by one of the lowliest people groups in Israel.

But this is not just about His humility. The story of the shepherds also proves God’s love for all people groups. God did not see the shepherds as being unworthy or too much of an outcast to share in the occasion—quite the contrary! Instead, the shepherds were one of the first people to lay their eyes on the Savior of the world, and then they were blessed with the opportunity to worship Him and announce His birth to the city of Bethlehem.

Jesus goes on to live His life surrounding Himself with the people that didn’t really fit in. He would dine with sinners and thieves. His own disciples were fishermen and tax collectors. Throughout His whole life, Jesus proved again and again that He did not come just for the rich and elite, but He came for all of us.

I hope that we follow the example of the shepherds. I hope that we realize just how valued we are in the eyes of God. I hope that we can celebrate the birth of our Savior with the same level of exuberance. And I hope, more than anything, that we would not be afraid to tell others about our Redeemer.

"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 whent 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." ~Luke 2:15-18


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