The Shepherds

I know, I know. It's been a very ridiculously long time since I've posted anything on here. So, first let me say that I'm sorry. I hope for this to be a place to write from time to time about stuff that I'm learning and things that God is revealing to me.

As we enter this Christmas season, I am reminded of the story of the shepherds. In Luke 2, we are told that the shepherds were watching their flocks by night, when suddenly an angel appeared to them. I love this image, because the shepherds were not expecting anything extraordinary to happen this particular night. They are going about their regular business and, suddenly, they are interrupted by heaven. Isn't that how it happens so often in our lives? We are immersed in our daily lives, not expecting anything extraordinary, when God shows up.

You've probably heard that the shepherds were outcasts from society. That's actually probably not true (this is based on my study of the passage.....I don't possess this knowledge on my own!). If you look at the rest of Scripture, shepherds are generally given a positive review. King David was a shepherd when he was a boy. Pastors are referenced as shepherds. Jesus called himself "The Good Shepherd."

Rather, a shepherd was probably just a common fellow. I live in a farming community. Cotton farmers are about as common here as shepherds would have been outside Bethlehem when Jesus was born. I think there's a great lesson for us in this: God cares about regular folks. We don't have to be rich or really, really, ridiculously good looking in order for God to reveal Himself to us. Scriptures are chock full of stories where God speaks to someone really quite ordinary and, through them, does something extraordinary. If you read the Christmas narrative, the shepherds are the first people to hear about the coming of the Messiah.

It's also striking to look at their response. They go and meet the child, and then we read that they go and tell everyone they see about what has happened. The story is called The Greek term that's translated Good News in our English translations is evangelion. Kinda looks like the word evangelism, doesn't it? To evangelize is "to share the good news." And did you see the response to the shepherd's story? Everyone was amazed.

I happen to think that if we will share the story of Jesus (NOT religion, but just the story of Jesus), people will still be amazed. Think about it: God took the initiative to restore the relationship that WE fractured. It's an amazing story. Who do you know that needs to hear?