Daily Devotional for Friday, December 19
The Shepherds Worshiped and Witnessed
“And the shepherd’s returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them,” Luke 2:20.
The fact that you are reading this devotional tells me something about you. You are likely a follower of Jesus Christ and are a part of the church that Jesus established. Let me say that I believe there is no greater calling than to follow Jesus, and there is no greater honor and privilege than to be a member of the Church that Jesus built.
The church is, by design, a body with a specific function and a definite mission. As members of a church we enjoy privileges, but we also have responsibility. Two important functions of the church are worship and evangelism. While the church is involved in many worthwhile activities in the community, the priority of her presence must be to magnify the name of the Lord through authentic worship and to reach the unsaved with the message of the Gospel.
Today’s reading takes us to the shepherd’s fields outside Bethlehem, the night that our Savior was born. After a visitation from angelic messengers declaring the birth of Jesus, the shepherds responded to the news by visiting the stable where they found it just as the angels had reported; Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, lying in a manger. What a scene! What a night!
The shepherds must have been deeply affected by the experience, for we read in verse 17 that the shepherds publicized abroad the things they had seen. Then in verse 20 the record shows that they praised and glorified God for all they had heard and seen. I believe they were forever changed by their experience.
The shepherds worshiped and witnessed. On the night that the founder of the church was born, the shepherds did that which the church would be sent out to do: worship the Savior and tell the world the story of Jesus.
FINAL THOUGHT
This Christmas season, celebrate like a shepherd. Come and see, go and tell.
John Nations