So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ~ Luke 2:16-18 (NIV)
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When you've gone to a store and found a really great sale on something, you'll probably tell everyone you talk to about it, so they too can get in on the deal. When you've seen a really great movie, you'll probably spread the news (without spoiling the plot) to others so they too can see it and be moved to laughter or tears or whatever.
We tend to share what moves us. What thrills us. What benefits us. We want others to know what we know, and experience what we experience. Good news is worth sharing and hard to keep under your hat! Or under your tunic, as it were, for the shepherds.
They had seen angelic beings come out of the sky and make a fantastic prediction -- which, by itself, could seem like a dream or "a fragment of underdone potato" as Ebenezer Scrooge told the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. But instead, they believed and decided to find out for themselves the reality of the angels' proclamation -- that the Messiah, the long-awaited one, had finally been born, right in their home town! And, they were not disappointed. They found it to be just like the angels said -- right down to the manger, of all things! They'd been given a sign, and they found it -- the Messiah had been born!
Do you think Mishael, the shepherd, said with a yawn, "Gee, that was exciting, but we better get back to the sheep. And I'm hungry -- let's get something eat...." The Scriptures say they SPREAD THE WORD! They couldn't keep it under wraps! The fulfillment of the highest Jewish prophesy had come -- how can you not blab to every breathing individual you come into contact with?! I think maybe the sheep just had to fend for themselves that night, 'cuz the shepherds were too busy banging on doors and shouting from the street corners!
Ever wonder what became of those shepherds 30 years later? What did they think when a man named Jesus came into their town and healed the lame and the blind and the sick? I'm sure they were among the throngs of people who believed and followed Him. What special joy they must've felt, knowing they had been there in the beginning and were part of God's history in the making...
As believers in Jesus here in the 21st century, we are like those shepherds. We have heard the proclamation about Jesus, and we have seen with our own eyes -- our spiritual eyes -- the reality of who He is...God become man for the salvation of the world. Humanity is not left to the stench of our sin and the insufficiency of our own devices to escape the inescapable. God has reached down and offered a way out -- that is GOOD NEWS! It's better than a 2-for-1 sale at Macy's . . . it's better than the newest blockbuster film . . . it's the greatest story ever told, and we need to be telling it!
I speak to myself today, folks -- I need to be more on fire for the message of hope through Jesus Christ. I pray that the joy and excitement of seeing and knowing Jesus will overflow into my conversation with others. And if you find yourself feeling like me, I hope you are prompted to ask God for boldness, too. The shepherds couldn't contain themselves -- may we not be able to put a lid on ourselves, either...
Love,
Joelene
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