Witnessing a Revelation
Consider:
The story of Jesus’ birth includes powerful characters who show us how to invite God into our lives and how to interact with those closest to us.
As a writer and lover of literature, I find other characters fascinating choices. For example, a predictable plot would include the birth of a king in a royal setting with a birth announcement full of pomp and fanfare. God’s plot plays out with the birth of a king in a humble manger (note the theme from yesterday’s advent devotional) and a seemingly misplaced birth announcement. He chose to announce the birth of the Messiah to shepherds living in the fields near Bethlehem.
Shepherds certainly aren’t the conventional choice and this choice invokes some consideration. Why would God invite the shepherds into this sacred and monumental moment in history?
Read Luke 2:8-10.
Shepherds during this time period spent their long working hours with sheep. The men in this scene are the 3rd shifters and far from the epicenter of town where decision-makers looked down on them. The shepherds were considered a little shady by other Jews, as they would sometimes disregard Jewish law giving them a label of “dishonest.”
Yet, the angel of the Lord went to them. And then the choir showed up! This was a fear-invoking, awe-inspiring, verified appearance of the Divine and the shepherds knew it.
Explore:
Because God chose to reveal Himself and the important message of the Messiah’s birth to such characters, we must explore further. The gospels confirm God’s heart for the needy and forgotten. If God chooses to touch the lives of the “least,” shouldn’t we be doing the same?
Read Matthew 25: 31-46. How does this teaching of Jesus make sense of God’s choosing the shepherds to announce the Messiah’s birth?
Pray:
Ask God to show you who the “least” are in your world. Be specific, praying for these people by their first names. If you don’t know any first names of people in need, ask God to bring the “least” to you. Pray for these people to encounter God in a fear invoking, awe-inspiring, and verified revelation that offers hope and a sign of salvation.
I do love this about our Father and his heart for the least of these. It is so c cool how he told them first. How exciting and validating for them to be told first. They believed and took action unlike sometimes those with “power”. They may have chosen to debate How the whole thing should be handled. I love the shepherds’ enthusiasm.
Father thank you for your heart for all. May we be the same as you.
Amen! God’s story is perfect in the way that it just doesn’t make sense. Praise Him for working with the “least” to glorify His name! There is hope for us all!
Thank goodness