DEVOTION 7
LUKE 2: 8-10
In the day and age of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were not esteemed as we might like to imagine. Shepherds were actually the lowliest of their society and could possibly be compared to the homeless of our day. The shepherds did not usually have homes or families of their own. They wandered from place to place and were considered dirty physically and unclean spiritually. It was rare to see a shepherd ever enter the temple or take part in religious customs in any way, as they knew their place in their culture.
But obviously God did not! Here in this passage, we see God inviting shepherds to be the first people to mingle with Him.
When the angels appeared to the shepherds singing, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests,” scripture tells us that the shepherds went quickly to Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph, and a baby lying in a manger (a feeding trough). The angels reached out to these shepherds by letting the shepherds know that this was Christ the Lord. The shepherds were the lowliest men on the face of the earth that night, but after being the first ones to see this newborn King, they became the most blessed men on earth! The shepherds gave praises and glory to God and it was the shepherds whom God chose to use to spread the word throughout the land of the arrival of a savior for mankind! What a beautiful story to show us God’s grace and love for all people of all positions and places in the world. He desires all to come to Him and receive His glory! The world may choose to have outcasts, but God chooses the outcasts to behold His glory and to pass it on to others! God is inviting you, no matter your age, rank, appearance or abilities, to come to Him through the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is one with God Himself!
-Marilyn Williams
© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
December 12, 2009
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
www.marilynwilliams.com
LUKE 2: 8-10
In the day and age of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were not esteemed as we might like to imagine. Shepherds were actually the lowliest of their society and could possibly be compared to the homeless of our day. The shepherds did not usually have homes or families of their own. They wandered from place to place and were considered dirty physically and unclean spiritually. It was rare to see a shepherd ever enter the temple or take part in religious customs in any way, as they knew their place in their culture.
But obviously God did not! Here in this passage, we see God inviting shepherds to be the first people to mingle with Him.
When the angels appeared to the shepherds singing, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests,” scripture tells us that the shepherds went quickly to Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph, and a baby lying in a manger (a feeding trough). The angels reached out to these shepherds by letting the shepherds know that this was Christ the Lord. The shepherds were the lowliest men on the face of the earth that night, but after being the first ones to see this newborn King, they became the most blessed men on earth! The shepherds gave praises and glory to God and it was the shepherds whom God chose to use to spread the word throughout the land of the arrival of a savior for mankind! What a beautiful story to show us God’s grace and love for all people of all positions and places in the world. He desires all to come to Him and receive His glory! The world may choose to have outcasts, but God chooses the outcasts to behold His glory and to pass it on to others! God is inviting you, no matter your age, rank, appearance or abilities, to come to Him through the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is one with God Himself!
-Marilyn Williams
© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
December 12, 2009
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
www.marilynwilliams.com
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