Where do you like to worship? Some prefer a majestic cathedral, others a simple chapel. But would any ones first choice be a stable? Yet, after hearing the message of the angels, these shepherds' first response was to find the stable where Mary had given birth to the Savior.
To me, this only confirms that our God is the God of the unexpected. And few things could be more unexpected than the King of Heaven being born in a stable.
READ: Luke 2:15-16
I have often heard people use various forms of the expression, "You are not defined by what happens to you, but by how you respond to what happens to you." This is true, to some degree, in areas of life both good and bad, joyful and painful, exciting and terrifying. How we respond measures us in ways that words fail to express.
The shepherds' response was, first, to worship and, second, to tell what they had seen!
READ: Luke 2:17-18
Shepherds were not only the first to hear, they were also the first to tell the Christmas message. With their hearts bursting with wonder at what they had experienced, they shared that wonder with others by telling the whole story about the angels and the glory and the baby!
This is true worship - to kneel before Christ so that you are then able to stand before others and proclaim His glory and salvation. Once we are humbled into silence in the presence of the King, we can then speak boldly to all who need to hear.
The great challenge left to us, is that all of our Christmas celebrations should include at least traces or threads of the exaltation and worship the shepherds' exhibited. If we do this, we will cut through the glitz and the glamour of a season that has increasingly become secular and commercial and be reminded of the beauty of the One who is Christmas!
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