Shepherds
“These shepherds met God in an extraordinary way while living ordinary lives. All they could do in the moment was behold the baby in the manger. And beholding Him demanded their worship.”
“In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” (Luke 2:8-9 CSB)
Here’s what I love about God: there is no social or cultural importance with Him. No person matters more than another person. In fact, God so often visited the outcast, the unimportant, and the unfaithful.
Think of this—after over 400 years of silence because of the people’s unwillingness to return to Him, who did God appear to in a magnificent way? Shepherds. Not the religious leaders or the wealthy members of society. Not to royalty. He revealed the long-awaited promise to the outcasts.
Shepherds were interesting people during this time period. They literally lived among their flocks so they could protect them. They named each sheep. They knew them. And at night when these shepherds led them into a simple enclosure to sleep, they would often keep watch in the doorway, becoming the literal gate for the pen. No sheep would get out, and no threat would get in without going through this “gate.”
And they smelled. And they missed religious activities because of the nature of their work. And religious leaders of course looked down on them.
So of all people for God to appear to on the night of His Son’s birth, of all people for Him to display His light and glory, of all people to witness the praises echoed among the multitudes of heavenly hosts—God chose shepherds.
They had nothing to offer but their amazement. They had nothing to bring King Jesus but their awe.
We’re really a lot like these men. No matter how important some of us may feel from time to time, we have nothing to bring King Jesus. We reek of sin. We’re unfaithful in so many ways. And we’re all outcasts without Jesus. But He came to us. He chose to make His home within us. Of all people to live with and to dwell with, Jesus came to me and to you.
There are many days I don’t think I have much to offer. There are some days I feel I’m not making much of a difference. But these shepherds met God in an extraordinary way while living ordinary lives. All they could do in the moment was behold the baby in the manger. And beholding Him demanded their worship. Besides Mary and Joseph, they were the first people to see the Savior of the world. What a gift! The weight of this moment moved them to run and tell others.
May we also feel the wonder of seeing our Savior. May beholding Him move us to tell the world. And may we never forget what a gift it is that the Creator of everything in the heavens and on earth reveals Himself to us—the outcasts, the unimportant, and the unfaithful.