Christmas According to Kids Part 2 — Shepherds Knew - Monday
TODAY’S VERSE
Luke 2:8-9
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. (ESV)
This passage carries strong parallels to the anointing of David as king in 1 Samuel 16:11, “Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.’”
God’s preference towards shepherds in the messianic line seems to carry many significant truths, but I would like to simply highlight two:
1) God prefers to work through the lowly and humble. Shepherds were the overlooked and the outcasts. By the world’s standards, they would be your last pick for the “deliver the good news” team. And yet, God saw to it that their ears were the first to hear and their lips first to share that a savior was born in Bethlehem.
The preference of weakness over strength seems to be a key feature of God’s Kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 5:2-12, etc.). One of my favorite authors once wrote, “The temptation to consider power an apt instrument for the proclamation of the Gospel is greatest of all.” Power is never a viable tool for the proclamation of the Gospel because it goes against the very essence of what the Gospel is. The Gospel was initiated by means of God letting go of His power and coming in the form of human flesh (Philippians 2:5-11). Therefore, we cannot effectively communicate or display what He has accomplished outside of the means with which He brought it to be (namely: humility and obedience).
2) God desires to shepherd us. Sure, God could’ve chosen any group of people to reveal certain truths to or to raise Kingdoms from, but the use of shepherds seems to be a reflection of (a) the role He desires to hold in each of our lives and (b) the posture with which He will carry out that role. God deeply desires to be the one who leads us, protects us, tends to our wounds, meets our needs, and so on, but He won’t force you to receive any of His provision. He will walk calmly beside/in front of/behind us as our good shepherd, patiently and consistently inviting us to take Him at His word. The question is: will we let Him?
APPLICATION
Take some time to reflect on whether or not you prefer means of control/power to lead others to Jesus, or if you go the path of a humble shepherd, leading by example and making loving invitations.
PRAYER
Thank God for His role as your loving shepherd throughout your life, and ask for the compassion and strength to lead others to Him as He would desire you to do so.