Down a Road Toward Christmas: Bethlehem's Fields - A Place of Decision

We are now ready to complete our journey "Down a Road toward Christmas." Our final destination is an area of pastureland just east of Bethlehem where we witness some men at work herding sheep. Their story is found in Luke 2:1-20. These shepherds represented one of the oldest and most important vocations among the Jews. The very early Hebrews were shepherds. The list is quite impressive: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. Were these shepherds religious men? Not according to the pharisaic standards. They often failed to attend the synagogue services as frequently as they should. They did not keep all the strict laws and traditions imposed by the religious authorities. These were hardly the type of people the message of God's love would ever be given to...well, at least that is what most people would have thought. But God doesn't work according to our plans!

We first notice that these men were fearing men. They had simply been doing their job - watching sheep. It was usually a long, tedious work. When suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared and they became enveloped in the glory of the Lord. This was a glory so radiant that Moses had to veil his face after being in the presence of God. It was a glory so bright that it blinded the eyes of Paul years later. This was no ordinary light...it was the penetrating presence of God.

What was their response? Fear...a totally, wonderfully, natural response. When confronted by God, they did not make excuses. No, they felt they were doomed. Fear hit them hard!

It is only when a man has been broken by the fear of God that God can use him. God could not use Moses until his heart was full of the fear of God. God could not use Isaiah until his heart was full of the fear of God. God could not reveal the future to John until his heart was full of the fear of God. And God cannot use you and me until we have rediscovered that awesome and awful fear of God.

We then notice that these fearing men became inquiring men. After receiving the angelic message that a savior had been born right there in their own village, they asked themselves, "What shall we do with this message?" They had three options: 1) They could ignore it and do nothing. Sadly this is what the majority of people decided to do with the message of Christmas (read Matthew 7:13-14). Or 2) They could delay any action. "Let's think about it until morning and then decide what to do." How dangerous is any delay, for in the delaying your destination is the same as for those who have ignored the message. Or 3) They could act upon it immediately. "Let's not wait any longer! Let's go to Bethlehem...NOW!" They went to discover for themselves Jesus Christ.

As the men left that nativity scene, they were proclaiming what they had heard and seen. They wanted others to know of the message. Isn't that what Christmas is all about...one person telling another where they can discover peace and joy. You couldn't keep these men quiet. They didn't know much about religion, but they did know what they had experienced. They didn't understand it all, but they knew what had happened in their own lives. Maybe people wouldn't believe them, but they had to tell the story anyway. These ordinary shepherds became the first evangelists mentioned in the New Testament.

Our journey down a road toward Christmas is now completed. But the question yet remains - What are you and I going to do with Christ? What Child is this that the wise men and shepherds sought? What Child is this that the scribes ignored and Herod sought to kill? The answer is as old as the foundations of the world and yet as new as the dawning of a day...He is Christ, the Lord; He is Jesus, the Savior of the world!

Here is wishing each of you a Very Merry Christmas filled with the joys of Jesus Christ, and a prayer for His presence and power to be experienced by you as you enter into the New Year.