When you’ve seen something of incredible magnitude or astounding beauty, sometimes words are just insufficient.
The all-but-indescribable element may come from sheer size, or perhaps natural beauty, or even possibly from a perception of some awesome power that is unseen. Things that impact every fiber of your being and etch themselves indelibly upon your memory might have a wide variety of characteristics.
Cresting the ridge of the hill that revealed the Grand Canyon for the first time was one such astounding event. None of the photographs I had seen could have prepared me for it. I had expected grandeur and beauty; but what my eyes beheld was a magnitude of order greater, and I was literally stopped in my tracks by its beauty.
I remember the first time I approached the Western Wall in Jerusalem. There, too, I was stopped in my tracks by a deep recognition within my spirit of the presence of the Almighty.
Today’s verse says:
THE SHEPHERDS RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD FOR ALL THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN, AS IT HAD BEEN TOLD THEM
Now your first thought when you consider the shepherds in Bethlehem’s fields is probably the appearance of the angel who first appeared and spoke to them, or possibly the great army of angels that showed up once the angel shared his announcement of the birth. If your last work shift had been interrupted because an angel showed up next to your desk or in your shop and made a pronouncement of earth-shattering importance, you’d very likely be sharing THAT with your family and friends and glorifying God. Especially if the initial appearance had been immediately followed by a multitude of other angels joining the first.
But the angelic appearances and chorus were not what this verse is referring to.
THE SHEPHERDS RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD FOR ALL THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN, AS IT HAD BEEN TOLD THEM
You see, after the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds went and found Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What they saw wasn’t huge and grandiose, quite the opposite. What they saw was, on one hand, utterly humble. A newborn baby lying in a manger. My guess is that they were stopped in their tracks by a deep recognition within their spirits of the presence of the Almighty.
Mary and Joseph were not alone, evidently; Luke records the shepherds retelling the story of the angels and “all who heard it” wondering about what this could mean. There were probably family members of Joseph in attendance.
And the shepherds. That was the illogical part. It made absolutely no sense.
On the rungs of the social ladder at that time in Israel’s history, you couldn’t get much lower than a shepherd. The once noble profession in the time of King David had fallen to become the lowest of the low. They held all of the social status of dung sweepers and tax collectors. It was a humiliating position, it was a commonly-held belief that shepherds simply couldn’t be trusted. So much so that their testimony in Jewish courts was inadmissible.
THE SHEPHERDS RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD FOR ALL THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN, AS IT HAD BEEN TOLD THEM
These men had their night shift interrupted by the appearance of an angel of God physically manifest before them. I think it significant that the most common phrase of greeting when an angel speaks to a human is “Don’t be afraid,” seeing an angel is so overwhelming that the battle-hardened soldiers at Christ’s tomb passed out from staggering fear when they saw one. This single appearance was followed by something even MORE amazing – an entire company of angels joining them in the fields.
But what they returned to their village to speak about was all they had heard and seen “as it had been told to them.” It was the birth of the Savior that was their chief focus. The Chief Shepherd of Israel summoned lowly shepherds as His witnesses.
THE SHEPHERDS RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD FOR ALL THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN, AS IT HAD BEEN TOLD THEM
As you think about yourself, you may feel as though you are no one of consequence. Inside you may even feel worthless, utterly insignificant. That can be the case whether your reputation is like a stack of sterling or a pile of dung; because we see our inner faults and failing as no one else can. No one else, that is, but God.
He sees, and He calls those who are perceived to be the lowest of the low. He calls them into His presence to behold Him. And then He sends them out to be His witnesses.
Last night as I flew home, the Lord arranged a conversation with a man who was grappling with his sin. He doubted whether his choices had driven him too far from God to be forgiven. He asked, “How can you know if you’ve crossed the line, if you’re not going to be accepted?” My reply to him was to assure him that, if God was drawing his heart in our conversation, it wasn’t to tease him but to receive him. This issue is relationship. Jesus wants one. He wanted one with him; He wants one WITH YOU.
But there are roles in every relationship. His role is as LORD; yours is as adopted child. Loved, blessed, cherished — but NOT in charge.
The role He calls you to is similar to that of the shepherds – GLORIFYING GOD for all you have heard and seen from Him.
Enter the relationship He is calling you into. Join the shepherds at the manger, contemplate the great lengths He went to so that you could approach Him. Let His love draw you into the relationship of a lifetime.
Be changed by His grace, accept His lordship.
Then YOU go and do what the shepherds did — GLORIFY GOD FOR ALL HE HAS TOLD YOU AND SHOWN YOU.
THE SHEPHERDS RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD FOR ALL THEY HAD HEARD AND SEEN, AS IT HAD BEEN TOLD THEM
Will you?
