The Messiah has come!
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 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 when 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. But Mary treasured them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
Luke 2:8-20 (ESV)
Imagine for a moment that you are in the middle of the woods at night. You look around and all you see is the moon, stars and trees. The stillness of night around you and peace overcomes you. All of a sudden, a bright, blinding light bursts out from the heavens and an angelic being appears before you. What is your reaction? Probably fear. Fear from not knowing what’s going on. Fear from the shock of what you are seeing. This is what the shepherds tending their flocks felt. They were hanging out with the sheep when they were surrounded by the glory of God and received a message from one of his angels. Often, the appearance of God’s angels meant destruction. However, the message brought by this angel is one of joy. The Messiah has come! The one the Jewish people have been waiting for has come to this earth. They are then joined by a host of angels praising God and declaring His good news.
What would your reaction be to this declaration? Would you be overjoyed? Would you run to see this baby? Or would you shrug off what you saw and move on with your life? I dare say, most of us would run to see the baby. We would want to see if what we saw was real. This is what the shepherds did. They ran to see the baby. After they saw Him and told everyone what happened, they left, praising and glorifying God. Many of us would say we would do the same thing, but how many of us do? How many of us, after receiving Christ, glorify God? My guess would be many of us did. The question now is this: are we still praising God and glorifying Him the same way we did then? Are we just as excited about Jesus as the day we met him? This season is the celebration of the coming of our Lord and Savior. We will celebrate with our family and friends and then return to normal life. Let’s remember, even after Christmas is done, why we celebrate. Let’s remember that God came to this earth, died and resurrected after three days to save us from our sins. Let us not just celebrate the coming of the Messiah on December 25. Let us celebrate the coming of our savior every day of our lives.
This week, remember that we have a savior. Share the good news that was shared with the shepherds with someone this week and go praise God and glorify Him for the wonderful things He has done for you.