Who Wants To Be A Shepherd?

AUTHOR:  Becky Guth

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night…And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (LK 2:8-12)

That scripture is one that I probably know by heart.  Besides hearing it once a year in church on Christmas Eve, I’ve also heard it once a year since 1965 when “A Charlie Brown Christmas” first was televised.  “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is one of my favorite Christmas specials and I know some of those characters’ lines by heart, too.   Remember how Shermy complained, “Every Christmas, it’s the same.  I always end up playing a shepherd.”?
 
As I think back about childhood Sunday School programs, it usually wasn’t shepherds that all little kids hoped to play in the Christmas pageant.  It was Mary and Joseph.  The shepherds weren’t the main roles in the program and they didn’t have many – if any – speaking parts.

The Bible basically confirms that the shepherds said little.  But their reactions to the amazing news they heard and saw are wonderful examples for us today.
 
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. (LK 2:15-16)

The shepherds wasted no time in receiving the good news of the Messiah.  In fact, there was an urgency.  Though they were afraid, they responded in belief and trust and said, “Let’s go”.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. (LK 2:17-18)

After witnessing the newborn King, the shepherds spread the good news and all who heard it were amazed. The life-saving gospel we know today began spreading across the world through humble shepherds.

Be like the humble shepherds!  Don’t keep this good news to yourself.  Share it!  

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (LK 2:20)

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