Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Why the shepherds?

Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve and at my house they will be acting out the nativity. (I am still in Colorado so will miss out on the fun.) In the past, everyone wanted to be the angel or the wise men. The angel has an actual speaking part and the wise men are well . . . wise. And they wear the nicest costumes and bring the best gifts.

Personally, I would want to be a shepherd.

The shepherds were responsible for verifying which of the lambs were the first born and without blemish. Or in other words, which would be offered to God as a sacrifice. And so it seems only fitting that the shepherds, watching over their flocks by night, were given the glad tidings of Christ birth. They went in haste and found Him lying in a manger and became witnesses to the world that He was truly the "Lamb of God", the first born of Mary, and as such, would offer himself as a the great sacrifice. What a sight to see the angels singing and then being able to worship the Savior in the humble stable.

What an honor to be a shepherd.

3 comments:

Heidi said...

Hear Hear! Merry CHristmas! THanks so much for your kind words about my book--it made my day!

Dave and Camille said...

That was really sweet. I think we focus on the more major players in the story that it is really easy to forget about the shepherds. I'm glad you posted about this!

Emilee said...

They must have been very close to the spirit to have seen the angels. I agree with you, what an honor!