Listen:
Luke 2:15–18
When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them.
Consider:
After the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds were left with a choice. They could stay in the fields where it was familiar… or they could step out in faith and go to see what God had done. Their response was immediate! I don’t know that I would have jumped in with the same faith as the shepherds, especially after seeing something as jarring as a sky full of angels! But they didn’t delay, they didn’t create excuses like “let’s wait for a better time.” When God spoke, they moved.
And not surprisingly, they found exactly what God had said they would find…perhaps not the expected “packaging” of a king or savior, but nonetheless it was just what God had promised.
Seeing Jesus for themselves changed them. They didn’t keep the experience quiet. Even though they were not religious leaders or intellectuals, they didn’t allow fear or imposter syndrome stop them from doing exactly what they were supposed to do…spread the GOOD NEWS!
The first spreaders of the gospel were simple shepherds whose hearts were transformed by the presence of Christ.
God often uses ordinary people with willing hearts to spread extraordinary news. It doesn’t take a religious degree, or wisdom with age, or any other credential to experience and tell the good news of the gospel. It takes noticing, paying attention, and then sharing. Something we can ALL do.
Respond:
Make a habit to notice something good at least 3 times over the day today…write it down, make note of it in your brain, whatever works for you. Then at the end of the day, share those “noticings” with someone else. See how it feels to share the good of the day with another person, and notice how your good spreads as it is shared, much like God’s love spreads when we offer it out of ourselves and into the world!
Pray:
Loving Lord, we know that your Word is living, breathing, ever changing as we encounter it at different times and in different places. Help us never stop reading your Word with expectation and hope of new surprises of your love for us. Amen.
