A wonderful part of the Christmas account is the angels arriving in the night sky to proclaim the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. The shepherds were not considered great in the eyes of most people of the time. They worked and cared for the sheep day and night. These men were not men of authority, but regular, working men, yet God chose them to hear the greatest message the angels could proclaim.
Luke 2:8-14 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And,
lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round
about them: and they were sore afraid. And the
angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, good will toward men.
These men immediately ran into town to see the babe in the manger.
They then spread the word about the child. They did not keep it hidden. They
shared the great message, the gospel.
Did everyone believe them? Maybe not.
Did some believe? Probably so. They were
given a great gift. They were chosen to bear the message they heard the angels
proclaim of the birth of Jesus. Their lives were forever changed by this
message.
We too, have a great gift. We have received salvation from that
same Jesus. He was born, lived, died and rose again just to give us the great
gift of salvation. We are the reason he came. His greatest gift is salvation.
We have received it through repentance and being baptized in His precious name.
We heard his voice calling in our spirit, “Come to me and be saved.” We
responded by running to the altar before him. We can now respond as the shepherds
by sharing the message of salvation. We may not have heard it directly from an
angel, but we were forever changed when we came to Jesus Christ ourselves. We
are no longer the same and have been made new. What a blessed thing! Luke 15:10 tells us “There is
rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Can you imagine the rejoicing that took place
in heaven over your soul? Rejoice for
you are saved!!! Rejoice with the angels!!
We are also chosen to bear the message of Jesus. We can proclaim
the gospel. We can tell others about Jesus’ greatest gift. May we be as excited
and changed by this gift that we cannot hide it or hold it back. May it be evident
in the life we live and in the words we speak. May we be the bearers of the
greatest message mankind has ever been given. Jesus is here to save us from our
sins. We are called to His Kingdom. We are called to be messengers of the
gospel to others who also need to hear that Jesus loves them! May the message of the angels be heard not only
at Christmas time, but each and every day from the lips and lives of those of
us who have accepted the greatest gift of all. Proclaim the message of the
angels: I bring good tidings of great joy!
Jesus the Savior is here for you!
