Shepherds Long Ago and Today

Shepherds Yesterday and Today

(Luke 2:8-20)

God meets us where we are. The shepherds were living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night (2:8). The shepherds were simply doing the best they knew to do. Whether you're rich or poor, healthy or sick, made bad mistakes, etc…God meets you just where you are. You don't have to, nor can you, "get right" for God to relate to you. God dealt with that on the cross.

God initiates relationship with us. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them (2:9). The shepherds were not seeking God. They perhaps stood in fields looking at the stars above and sensed God the Creator…but even creation is God's initiative to reveal Himself to us (Romans 1:20). Only God can initiate…that's grace. We have no life of our own to initiate anything of eternal value. Adam and Eve were deceived into trying to initiate something fruitful, which led immediately to death. We are tempted with the same deception. I'm so glad God chose to relate to me, for I would have never decided (i.e., initiated a choice) to follow Christ!

God's truths are received through humility. The shepherds were afraid (2:9). The shepherds were humble servants primed to hear God. I believe God lovingly humbled me several years ago by taking away the illusion that my accomplishments were a means of "nourishment," and I came to realize I was actually starving for true life. During that humble time, God revealed Christ in my heart as the true Bread of life. Another example of God giving grace to the humble is a precious woman who has struggled with daily panic attacks for 15 years. In-Touch Ministries referred her to Christ Life Ministries, and Joy and I are ministering to her. She is so beautifully receiving the good news that she is complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10), and she has gone an entire month without a panic attack. She still has many struggles, but she is growing in hope and is sharing that hope with others.

God sends messengers with His presence. And the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people" (2:9-10). "Angel" means "messenger." However, this angel was not simply given a message to pass on to the shepherds, because "the glory of the Lord shone" as the angel spoke. The significance of this one phrase is realized in Hebrews 1:3 that says "The Son (Christ) IS the brightness of God's glory!" Wow! Jesus IS the glory, the very outshining of God! Although I cannot explain it, I do understand from this phrase that the triune God was present with the angel and the shepherds. Today every Christ-one is a messenger through whom God uses to express the glory of His dear Son to the world! Every Christ-one has the presence of God with them. The deceiver doesn't want us to know this.

God's promises are specific. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger (2:11-12). Through the angel, God revealed to the shepherds a specific town and a manger. Today, following Christ's resurrection, God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Are you aware of the 100s of specific things God promises to fulfill in you each day through the Holy Spirit? Everything we decide to do should not be because they are right things to do, or even good things to do…I believe every moment is God's promise for each of us to specifically relate to Christ!

Faith is receiving God's words. The shepherds said, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us" (2:15). It is vital to note that the shepherds received the angel's message and personally related the words as being from God. The shepherd's genuine free-will response was a fruit of this receiving and relating. I can be tempted to respond by receiving truths about Christ, rather than genuinely responding by receiving truths from Christ. The temptation is to respond by doing things out of obligation (this is the right thing to do) or out of guilt (I really should to do this). Christ came to free us to respond out of His life in us (this is the most loving thing to do and I really want to do this)! Faith is a receiver of God's grace. Faith receives the indwelling life of Christ moment by moment. Faith simply says "thank you" for God's continual grace.

I don't believe God initiates and then anxiously waits for our responses before He initiates something else. I believe God, and the Christ-life, are so much more miraculous than that! God is sovereign and loving. I really don't understand all of this, nor am I trying to get anyone to believe as I do. All I know is that I was blind and now I see…I did nothing to receive sight in the first place, and I can do nothing to be able to continue seeing…I just see! I thank God for continuously relating to me the sight of His dear Son in my heart and the free will to relate with Him. I have seen many people helped temporarily by merely responding to biblical principles, but I am more and more seeing people changed forever by receiving and embracing Christ as their very life.

When we hear from God, we will be excited to see how He fulfills His promises. And the shepherds came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger (2:16). I was always hesitant to step out in faith (i.e., respond to grace) to do anything when I was getting information about Christ second-hand. I was so self-conscious. When I began to realize God revealing Christ living in me, I became more Christ-conscious and joyfully started doing things the world considers foolish but that are the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).

When we see God fulfill His promises, we will testify to others. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds (2:18). The shepherds did not have to be coerced to witness to others…their testimonies were simply an overflow of the living words they had received. And people actually listened at awe to these humble servants! This encourages me!

Christ is always the focus of our relationships with God and other people. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen (2:20). The shepherds first received God's glory in the lonely fields…then they saw God's glory in the lowly manger…then they related God's glory literally everywhere they went! Christ-ones, who are vessels of God's glory, express the fragrance of Christ to everyone with whom we relate (2 Corinthians 2:14)!