Merry Supernatural Christmas!

'Be A Shepherd'

Luke 2:8-20

The shepherds are often overlooked in the Christmas story.  We don’t have shepherds anymore so may not understand how they were viewed in that society. The job of shepherds was considered the lowest level and unclean. The job was given to either the youngest son or to a slave.  They were hard-working regular guys. Amazingly, God chose to announce the birth of His Son to the lowly Shepherds.

The Shepherds probably felt:

#1 Terribly unworthy Have you ever felt unworthy as the Shepherds did? Not only were they physically dirty but considered spiritually dirty.

 #2 Inadequate    How often do we feel inadequate as we compare ourselves to others who appear to have it all together!  The Shepherds had to work on the Sabbath to care for the animals and thus broke one of the commandments.

#3 Unloved

Have you ever felt unloved...like there was a big hole in your life where love should be? The shepherds were considered thieves (and some may have been) and their testimony was not accepted in court.

Despite it all, the angel told them: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”  For all the people… which included the Shepherds...and us.

Immediately the Shepherds ran to see Jesus and that changed everything for them.

What does Jesus mean to us?

Without Jesus,  we may be like the Shepherds and feel terribly unworthy,  inadequate, and unloved.   God made Jesus approachable to the Shepherds by being born in a stable...a place where they would be comfortable to enter.

Our challenge is to become like the Shepherds and run to Jesus...that will change everything for us.