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Shepherd – by Paul Giblerston

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Luke 2: 16-19 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

It is that time of year where we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We all know the story of the angel Gabriel who was sent by God to deliver the news to Mary that she will be the mother of the Son of God.  We know the story of how Joseph first reacted after hearing the news about Mary’s pregnancy, and then (with the help of Gabriel) change his mind and married Mary knowing that all the people were talking.  We know the story of when Mary called out Elizabeth’s name and the child she was carrying leaped inside her.  We know the story of how three Wiseman traveled from a foreign land to give gifts and pay homage to this child.  We know how God used these ordinary people to fulfill His promises.

This year I found myself thinking about who I would have been had I lived in those times.  The first two I would mark of the list would be Mary and Elizabeth for obvious reasons.  But could I have been Joseph?  Could I have taken the situation at hand and found it in me to believe Mary and what she was saying?  Could I have been able to withstand the criticism and shunning that I would receive for not following what everyone else wanted and expected me to do.  In my own mind, I consider myself a wise man.  In reality I don’t think I would have been able to read the old scrolls, study the skies, and leave my family and my home just to travel for months to an unknown destination.  Plus I don’t think I could have ridden a camel all that time.

If I would be honest with myself I would have to say I would be more in the shepherd’s camp.  The shepherds were a group of people who kept to themselves and did their jobs.  A people that nobody wanted to associate with.  A people who God would send an angel to, to proclaim the greatest news the world has ever heard.  A group of people that did for sheep, that Jesus would do for people.  As Micah would prophesy about in Micah 5:4 4And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.  And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

A group of people that did for sheep, that Jesus would do for people.

I just love knowing that God uses the least of these to honor by proclaiming the birth of Jesus to them.  It also is a fore shadowing of Jesus’s ministry and how He is our shepherd.  To imitate Jesus is to be a shepherd.  Have a merry Christmas and let us not forget why we are celebrating.

Blessings, Paul Gilbertson

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