December 8, 2019 - INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE HEART
"That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!...
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Luke 2:8-11, 15 NLT
Imagine just minding your own business working a night shift with some coworkers, tending whatever it is night shifters tend to (animals, patients, security monitors, etc), when all of a sudden a group of otherworldly figures shows up and brings your group news about an amazing event in a nearby place. How we react might depend on how important that piece of news is to us personally. For example, if the angels told me that Justin Bieber was in town at that moment, I would be excited; but not enough to make me leave my work. News of the Messiah being born must have had great personal meaning to the shepherds if they were willing to leave their flocks unattended in the wild so they could go look for this baby that was said to have been born. You could also say that it was a bold move of faith on their part, as they had no clue whether what the angels said was true. They simply heard what was said and believed the message, so much so that they were moved to act and look for the Messiah themselves.
On the other hand, one could argue that the shepherds' decision to look for Jesus didn't take much faith at all. Of course they believed the message when it was an angel who told them! That angel was even joined by a million other angels afterwards, singing praises to God in the middle of the night! Anybody who saw and heard all of that would do the exact same thing, would they not?
It may be that in our Christian walk, we sometimes look for those "multitude of angels" moments before we obey the Lord. We want God to show us signs or wonders before we take Him at His word and obey His commands. We want to see Him and know exactly what we're getting into before we decide to give up our lives to Him. Unfortunately, God often doesn't work that way. It is by grace we have been saved, through faith in the gospel of Jesus (Ephesians 2:8). Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. Faith is having confidence in God and His promises, even if we never experience anything as undeniable and miraculous as a multitude of angels in the night sky.
Let's be like the shepherds in that they, after hearing God's message, stepped out in faith and looked for the Messiah themselves. I encourage us all to really dig into God's word this coming year and seek God's face the way the shepherds searched for Jesus. Maybe the message of God doesn't hold much personal meaning to us right now because we don't even know what it is! I pray that the Holy Spirit moves through our church this year and draws us all back to the word of God, to the book that reveals to us who God is and what He has promised to do in and through His people. May He increase the faith of the people of CEAC so that we can go see and do amazing things for the glory of His name and kingdom!
Abby Zamora-Cheng