Light of the World预览

There is a beautiful window into the heart of God in the fact that when Jesus was born, the first people to find out were a handful of shepherds, watching their flocks at night.

When we read the Bible we see many references to shepherds. These stories that we know well might make us romanticize who they were and where they stood in society. For instance, when we are introduced to David in 1 Samuel, he is a young shepherd boy who goes on to become a great king over all of Israel. Jesus himself says, “I am the good shepherd,” in John 10 verse 11.

The truth is, however, that when God chose to reveal His Messiah to the world, he did not go to those most loved or respected people of the day. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Shepherds were on the fringes. They may have even been considered unclean or viewed as sinners. Their work was lonely and hard. All of this was especially true for those chosen to keep watch at night.

This is exactly the heart of God, though. The angels could have been sent to announce God’s son in the Temple courts amongst the priests and those considered to be the most holy by the human standards of the day, and yet they appeared first to the most lowly of people.

Jesus says in Mark 2:17 (NIV), “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” The light of the world came into the world to shine in the darkest of places.

Question:
Have you ever felt like the circumstances of your life are too dark for God’s light to shine through?

Application:
We are called as followers of Christ to have a heart like His. We are called to value and show love to the people who are on the outskirts, the people who are hard to love, and those whose mistakes have buried them in shame. We all know someone who falls into this category. With discernment, and after spending some time in prayer, find a way to engage with them in order to be a light for Christ in the dark place that they’ve found themselves.