“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them.”
Luke 2:20
Thrills and exciting events come and go, but it’s His “abiding Presence” that cheers us day-by-day.
There’d never been another night like it for those poor, rent-a-shepherds. No doubt they’d tended others’ sheep for many months or years; but, suddenly their worlds were turned upside down by the Shekinah Glory of the Lord and the angelic host overhead.
“Fear not!” the angels cried.
“For behold, I bring you Good Tidings of great Joy, which shall be to all people” (v.10).
And, immediately they began to tell them what had just happened in Bethlehem and how a “baby wrapped in swaddling clothes was lying in a manger” (v.12).
They were also told this Child would be no ordinary child—for He would be/is “the Savior, Who is Christ the Lord” (v.11).
So, off they went to find Him. . .this Child so unusual in birth.
In fact, they went “in haste” (v.16), so great was their intrigue and joy.
And, find Him they did. Nestled there so quietly in the hay of a cattle trough.
There were no attendants; no servants to wait upon Him hand-and-foot.
Only assorted livestock. And, a simple, young couple trying to make sense of it all (v.16).
After paying their respects, they couldn’t keep it to themselves; instead, they began “making known abroad (lit., wherever they went) what the angels had told them” (v.17). And, this produced much perplexity and intrigue among their listeners as they tried to grasp the shepherds’ news (v.18).
But, that didn’t matter.
The shepherds’ joy wasn’t dependent upon others’ reception or understanding. Like the one who’d been blind from birth and Jesus healed (Jn. 9:1-25), they knew little of the theological implications of Jesus’ birth. But, they did know something quite miraculous and “unusual” had happened. And, that’s why they went back home “glorifying and praising God.”
Oh, dear Pilgrim, shouldn’t the same be true of us after the Lord has appeared unto us? Shouldn’t we, like the shepherds, be telling folks everywhere we go about Who He is and what He’s done in our lives?
Sadly, too often, the “newness” of the experience wears off and the newly redeemed returns to his meager, mundane, monotonous, “ho-hum” life, just like nothing has happened. But, that shouldn’t be—not when the Savior of the world has taken up residence in our hearts. May the Holy Spirit help us recapture that same Joy we had been we first met Him; then, may we go out and spread abroad what great things God has done for us (Lk. 8:39).
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated December 26, 2010
