Glory in the Highest  

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."—Luke 2:14 (NASB)

By Danny Saavedra

Don’t you just love getting good news? It’s so exciting. 

“You’re pregnant!” 

“You won a million dollars!”

“You’ve been upgraded to first class!”

“We’re happy to inform you that you’ve been approved!”

We love good news. Why? Because whether it’s a new addition to the family, a huge pile of cash, a luxurious plane ride, or your dream house becoming a reality, good news is made good by the great joy it brings with it!

Have you ever had the opportunity to deliver a life-changing announcement? To look someone in the eye and tell them they’re about to receive something so amazing or that their whole future is about to change for the better? It’s a position of honor to be able to do this for someone else. 

Throughout the Bible, we find angels delivering messages from the Lord to the people. And while yes, sometimes these messages were warnings, revelations, or instructions; they were also tasked with delivering good news. In Luke 2, the angels were given the highest honor—the opportunity to deliver the greatest news. 

As the shepherds were out in the field watching over their flock, an angel appeared. In Luke 2:10-11 (HCSB), he says, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.”

Then suddenly, many angels appeared next to the angel who delivered the news. And the angels did something unique . . . they broke out into full-blown praise, proclaiming “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14). And it wasn’t a small group of angels, either. The Word calls it “a multitude of the heavenly host” (Luke 2:13 HCSB). Another way of interpreting the terms used here is an army of angels, likely numbering in the tens of thousands. You could say this was the Army of the Great King, proclaiming His greatness! 

They came with good news for all men, to spread the message that peace had come to men in the form of the child born in the city of David. This peace he spoke of is the peace of God, a peace that is available to all who would receive it . . . but only those who receive reap its pleasure. 

Today, the Lord has presented us with the unique and truly wonderful opportunity to be His messengers. Like the angels on that holy night, we have been given the highest honor to tell people of the highest glory our lives can ever experience: knowing Christ!

As believers, the apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God’” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 HCSB).

As His ambassadors, His official messengers, every day, we have the opportunity to proclaim to the people around us through our words and our lives that a relationship with Jesus changes everything. As ministers of reconciliation, we can deliver the good news, we can be used by God to reconcile people to Him, to change someone’s destiny now and forever. 

I pray we would take this call seriously, but at the same time rejoice in it. We get to be messengers of the greatest news in history. So, let’s get to sharing!