Unto You A Child Is Born

Luke 2:8-14 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Our God sent word of the birth of his only son to the shepherds.  He did not send it to the kings and prices and wealthy men of the time.  He sent it to the men in the fields whose lives were hard and solitary for this was a gift for ALL men.  Even the message of salvation was written for the shepherds for being washed in the blood of the lamb was something they knew well.  It was a part of their job. 

There would be times when a ewe would die but the baby would live, and times the baby would die but the ewe would survive.  You would think that getting the surviving ewe to accept the surviving baby would be easy, but it was not.  The dead lamb would be skinned and it's bloody fleece placed upon the orphaned lamb.  The ewe would smell her lost lamb on the orphaned one and accept it as her own.  This was a message that the shepherds understood quite easily.  By being washed in the blood of the lamb we bear the print of Christ and are adopted into God's family, recognized as one of His own.  No longer must we be born into the right family in order to be the chosen ones, for the adoption process was begun and that door still remains open for all.

It says so much about our God that the good tidings of great joy were not sent to the scholars and the kings to be passed down to the people, but sent to the people themselves. 

For those who wonder why the son of God would have to be born in a stable, ask yourself this -- where else would a lamb be born?

Merry Christmas to one and all.  May the light of God shine brightly upon you.