Ouch and Amen!

Luke 2:15-16 - So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord  made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. I have a confession. I don’t enjoy celebrating Christmas like I used to. Whaaat? 

It has grown more and more commercialized and less about Jesus. It’s been this way for awhile. Oh, it’s a time of year when love is extended by giving gifts, like the Magi gave to King Jesus. But what did the humble shepherds have to give? Might I say their gifts of worship and praise were what were befitting this Child? 

The shepherds were first to be notified! Not the Magi. The lowly before the grand. Look at it this way, too. Jesus came humbly into the world, not in some grand manner. He also came to become our Shepherd. If Jesus humbled Himself both in birth and in death, shouldn’t this be our example? This is what the Bible tells us about humility:

• The meek shall inherit the earth. 
• The proud will be humbled
• The humble will be raised up
• With the humble comes   wisdom
• The foolish and weak things of the world bring shame to the wise and mighty

We are to come to Christ as little children, in anticipation and trust, seeking Him and less self-seeking. 

Our pastor had a very good message for Christmas Eve. It was based on the Luke 2 scriptures above. The shepherds made haste. They heard the good news of a  Savior, Christ the Lord, being born. Imagine...they also were the first types of evangelists:

Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. (Luke 2:17-18,20) 

These shepherds had no gifts to bring but they carried away with them and shared what they had seen about this Child who was and is the greatest gift of all. \

So the verse above, Luke 2:16, shares that the shepherds made haste to see this Child. They made haste. They didn’t drag their feet or decide to wait till they felt the time was right. They were called and went quickly to see what God had told them about. 

I wonder how many have heard the good news but have failed to receive it and Him? That’s the “ouch.” The “amen” goes to those who have and love what has transpired. 

God still is in the business of telling the world about this Child, His Son Jesus. He’s still in the business of sending His Holy Spirit to open eyes, ears and hearts to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. He uses others to do as the shepherds-evangelists of that day/John the Baptist/the disciples/pastors/evangelists, any and all who have made haste (and sometimes not so hastily) to meet this Child-King. Here’s another verse so well known and so well spoken by the prophet of Isaiah...

Isaiah 55:6 - Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.

Hebrews 3:15 - ...Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.