They were really just a bunch of good old boys taking care of sheep,
sleeping in shifts,
trying to stay warm,
and to ward off predators around a fire
outside a little town we would never have heard of if it weren’t for God’s redemptive plan.
God’s proclamation of peace on earth and goodwill to men landed in words that were given to lift loads and create space as they shimmered from angel lips and star song.
Having never seen anything brighter than their campfire,
the shepherds had the good sense to be terrified.
As the final notes of angel song faded in the night air,
they sprang into action.1
Did they leave junior members behind to tend the flock?
Or was urgency presiding over practicality?
We know for sure that they “went with haste.”
“Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Mary, Joseph, and then the shepherds—
The biblical record is clear: they were among the first to bear witness to the Light when he arrived in the world that he had created.
Of a low social class and widely regarded among the Jews as unclean and untrustworthy, nonetheless, the shepherds “found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.”
Tim Keller wrote, “Christmas is the end of thinking you are better than someone else, because Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you.”
God came to the shepherds, and they couldn’t contain the news.
God had come in the flesh, and the news of a Savior was good news indeed to “every heart [that would] prepare him room.”
Tim Keller wrote, “Christmas is the end of thinking you are better than someone else, because Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you.”
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Make Known the Saying
Nothing has changed in that regard, and the tangled strands of Christmas, both the cultural and the sacred, ensure that we can hear “glory to God in the highest” sung in every shopping mall and Christmas tree stand. So why not take advantage of the “free” publicity for the gospel? Taking a page from Paul’s missionary playbook (“I just happened to notice your altar to an unknown god…”), is there a way to employ the raw material of the true Christmas story and put it to work for kingdom purposes?
- Why not embed a gospel message in your family Christmas letter or choose a card with a challenging and redemptive inscription?
- Think of someone who would think it was weird for you to do something kind for them at any other time of year, but would welcome a plate of Christmas cookies or a muffin and coffee.
- Consider hosting an informal neighborhood gathering that includes a glass of eggnog, light refreshments, and conversation. Plant seeds and pray for good growing conditions.
- People who haven’t darkened a church door in years are more open to attending a church musical or Christmas Eve service, especially if children are involved. Take the risk and drop an invitation on a friend, neighbor, or unsaved family member.
We are the present-day shepherds, unworthy, unclean, and overflowing with good news.
We bear the message: the Son of God, born in a manger, dead for sinners, risen for our salvation.
God has come for us.
This is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Taking a page from Paul’s missionary playbook (“I just happened to notice your altar to an unknown god…”), is there a way to employ the raw material of the true Christmas story and put it to work for kingdom purposes?
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Holding You in the Light,
- (Today, they might have whipped out their phones for a quick selfie and a social media post.) ↩︎
Everyone whose life was touched by the True Light had a different experience. And everyone was changed by it in some way. Over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, I’ll be thinking and writing about some of those people and how the arrival of the True Light makes a difference for us in 2025. HERE’S THE LINK to the most recent post in case you missed it.
Looking for a Devotional Plan for Your Advent Season?
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Living Our Days 
Wouldn’t it be lovely if that ‘Christmas spirit’ thing was something we adhered to all year. hmmmmm
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Imagine what the world would be like…
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Love this…”We are present day shepherds….”
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We have SO MUCH good news to share!
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“So why not take advantage of the “free” publicity for the gospel? ” and “Plant seeds and pray for good growing conditions.” Such good suggestions and true on the timing for this season! ~ Rosie
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Thanks for reading, Rosie!
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Love that quote from Keller. I have loved ones who have asked me in a kind way not to talk about the gospel (“If I ever want to talk about it, I’ll let you know.”) But I do include it in our Christmas letters and try to find appropriate Christmas cards with verses–not in heavy handed way, but as you said, taking advantage of the free publicity for the gospel this time of year. 🙂 I pray the light breaks through just as it did for the shepherds.
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Oh, yes! The most powerful tool in our “shepherds tool belt” is prayer!
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There are so many layers to the beauty of God’s choice to proclaim that good news to the shepherds and entrust the spreading of the message to them. I love it. And I love your action suggestions! Some I do already – like testifying and putting a gospel message in my Christmas letter (when I send one!) – but I think I can do more. It’s very good news, after all!
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I can certainly do more, too. I appreciate, Kym, the way you always seem to come to my posts with such a spirit of openness!
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Keller’s quote is an eye-opener – I am so glad you shared it! I would love to know, too, if the second-string shepherds had to stay and watch the sheep! I think that must have been the most exciting night in history! I will ask God along with you to open my eyes to take that page out of Paul’s playbook! Grace & Blessings, Michele! Can’t wait to see what He sends us out to do!
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I hope we can give a full report at the end of the season!
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“We are the present-day shepherds, unworthy, unclean, and overflowing with good news.” Overflowing with good news … that resonates with me because I’ve been thinking about Jeremiah who had the word of the Lord inside him so powerfully he felt like it was fire shut up in his bones. In other words, something was about to spill out!
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I love that image from Jeremiah.
He couldn’t NOT share the truth God had revealed to him! May we write and teach with the same fervor!
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“We are he present day shepherds …. God has come for us.” Amen. So grateful He came for me.
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Yes, so grateful. What a good and faithful God.
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Another insightful post, Michele. How heart-warming and encouraging that God would prove his love for ALL by letting scruffy shepherds to be among the first to worship the Messiah! How appropriate that we should be looking for ways to “take a page out of Paul’s playbook!” I’m thinking about that one in particular . . . what that might look like for me. Thank you for the challenge!
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I’m really enjoying the process of creating this little Advent season. When I started it, I wondered if I really had anything new to say about the incarnation, but God has faithfully provided the words and the images!
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[…] some of those people and how the arrival of the True Light makes a difference for us in 2025. HERE’S THE LINK to the most recent post in case you missed […]
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I’ve been enjoying your Advent series so much, Michele. I love your suggestions for employing the “raw material of the true Christmas story and put[ting] it to work for kingdom purposes.”
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People do seem to be more open to the truth this time of year. And the opportunities abound…
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[…] post in case you missed it. Then we considered how the light arrived in Mary’s life, the shepherds‘, Simeon’s, and Anna‘s. Today, we affirmed that he wants to show up with Light in […]
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[…] post in case you missed it. Then we considered how the light arrived in Mary’s life, the shepherds‘, Simeon’s, and Anna‘s. Finally, we affirmed that he wants to show up with Light […]
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