That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:8-12
Dear God, what a message! The Messiah is here and he couldn’t be born into a much more lowly state. He’s in a trough in a barn. What exactly will this child’s path be and how will he become the Messiah? I know these shepherd will later go around telling everyone what they saw, but I wonder what was going on with them a week later. A year later. 10 years later. Did they remember? If they had made it the full 33 years of Jesus’ earthly life, how would they have responded to the crucifixion knowing what they knew from this night? Would they have been disillusioned?
And what if Mary’s and Joseph’s feelings that night. They had been told who Jesus was. Did they feel like they were failing you? Right out of the box, did Joseph feel like he was letting you and this baby down?
My point in all of this is that even when things might appear bad they can be part of your plan. Herod chased the young family out of Israel. They were poor. Jesus was rejected by the established church. He was ultimately killed by then. Poverty. Death. Rejection. Anger. Fear. It all combined to result in me being able to sit here this morning and worship you. And the story is Still told 2,000 years later.
Father, help me to NOT try to read the tea leaves and interpret what is going on by evaluating the physical world around me. Help me to simply embrace you, worship you, and trust you. That’s it, really. That’s the most important thing I can do today.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen
Emails to God 