Unexpected Honor

  Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Luke 2:11-16 says, “ 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.  And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us”

     I haven’t been in the presence of many important people.  The highest ranking official I ever had the opportunity to be in the presence of, was the Admiral in charge of the South Atlantic.  Even that was unnoticeable to the Admiral but just a salute and shouting, “Attention on Deck” as he passed by.  Other than that, as far as I know, I have not been seen or spoken to any one very high up on the social ladder.  You never know, however, when God is going to place you in a special place and to be His voice to certain people.  Such was the case to a small group of shepherds in Israel on a night they never forgot.
    They didn’t expect anything any different than any other night but that was not to be the case as an angel appeared and gave the message of the birth of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He put on humanity, that is, became flesh, in order that He might sacrifice His own self for our sins.  He was to be the perfect sacrifice, without blemish, without sin, that our payment might be made for our iniquities.  Even though there were religious leaders in Jerusalem, a high priest and all kinds of people ministering in the temple, and there was Herod and high Roman officials in the area, the announcement of the greatest event in history up to that time, was made to a group of shepherds.  They were perhaps the lowest people on the social ladder of success, but God made the announcement to them.  After the initial announcement, a great group of angels appeared and gave praise to God.  It was so exciting, they left their sheep and headed to Bethlehem.  This was one of those times when you drop what  you are doing and obey what God has said.    When you get a heavenly announcement like the one in this passage, you are not the same anymore.  I recently heard a statement in a documentary  presentation on football, that since people can’t find religion anywhere else, they find it in football.  It becomes a religion to them and their zeal and excitement and devotion become attached to a sport rather than to God.  What a sad commentary on the culture of today.  Thirty three years after the above passage, the Lord Jesus Christ would be raised from the dead, and still they do not believe.  Where do you put your trust? To Whom have you given your soul?  Praise God today for the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Merry Christmas to you all.