"Isn't Life More?" or "From Sheep to Glory"

At this time of year there is a lot of inviting going on. We invite, and we are invited. Some of us throw parties. Some of us invite family and friends over to share the holidays together. And the practice of inviting to a celebration was done in Jesus' time as well as ours. Christ actually makes mention of it on a couple of occasions. But years before those words, on the first Christmas night, there was an invitation.

There were a few people fortunate enough to be invitied to see the Christ child. Those people were shepherds. Let us take a look at these shepherds and what happened to them that night.

Read Luke 2:8-20
http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Luke+2%3A8-20

When we first encounter these shepherds in Vs. 8 what are they doing?

They are keeping watch over their flock by night. They were looking after sheep. It is interesting that a sheep can basically be used for two purposes. First you can eat sheep. Secondly you can use a sheep's wool to make clothing. In the Bible food and clothing are referred to as the basic necessities of life. The Bible says that food and clothing is what the Father knows we need, and that if we have them with these we should be content. So in these shepherds we have an example of people who are literally looking at, and focusing on, the basic necessities of their life.

We should relate to these shepherds. They are doing what many of us do everyday. We spend our lives working to provide. We, like the shepherds, spend our days (or nights) at our jobs, or taking care of our kids trying to make sure we have what we need.

The shepherds are in for a miraculous encounter. Something is about to happen which changes their lives, and that we would do well to think about.

In Vs. 9-14 we see the beginnings of this encounter. When the angel appears the shepherds fear. the first words from God to them (found so often in Scripture) are "Fear not." Then the message is delivered: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." This savior is the center of the whole passage everything is focused on him. The angel appeared because of the savior Christ the Lord. The good news of great joy was the savior Christ the Lord. The reason the heavenly host were praising God was the savior Christ the Lord. And the reason the shepherds would then Vs. 15 leave their flock in the field and go to Bethlehem was the savior Christ the Lord.

At first the shepherds were looking over their food and clothing (the basic necessities of life), but now they are called to look to something greater. to see something beyond and more important than the sheep.

When Jesus grew up in his most famous sermon (the sermon on the mount) Jesus said: "“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" (Matt 6:25) This was the challenging question he gave the disciples: Isn't life more? Isn't there something more important that just eating, and buying clothes, and paying the rent? Isn't there something that matters more?

The shepherds that night were hit with a wake up call that something was more important. Perhaps that is why they feared; because they had come face to face with the reality that there was something more important.

What is more important, and more important for all of us is God. Our creator who formed us in our Mother's womb. God, knowing God, having peace and a relationshipwith God, obeying and loving God, this is what really matters in life. In fact this really is "life".

We do not know how much the shepherds understood that night about the significance of what they were witnessing, but we know in light of Scripture, that it was of infinite significance. The infant, the baby they found lying in a manger (Vs. 16), was of infinite significance. Because only through him we have hope of life. Only through what he would accomplish in his death and resurrection can we have peace with God and come to know and love and obey Him.

In conclusion notice how the narrative ends in Vs. 20 "And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

First they returned. They went back to the sheep. They went back to their jobs. This is a good reminder that Christianity is not against work. On the contrary Christians are instructed to be good workers, and for the Christian work becomes an act of worship. Work becomes something we should do unto the Lord.

But there is a difference between the shepherds in Vs. 8 and Vs. 20, and the difference is worship. They are "glorifying and praising God". They have seen something fantastic. They have seen something praiseworthy. As I said they have seen something more important than the sheep. As Christians we are called to' "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." (Col 3:2) They don't ignore their jobs, but they go back to them with a new perspective because of what they've seen. They have seen these things, and this naturally produces in them worship. This is a mark of a Christian life. A Christian life is a life that produces worship.

As the Shorter Catechism says the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. That is the chief: the most important, the best thing we can do is to bring glory to our maker. This is what we were made to do. We found the shepherds looking at sheep and we leave them exalting the Living God. Let us, like the shepherds, go back to our lives knowing there is something more important than just the necessities of physical life. There is true life, and that life is in the Son of God. Let us seek to worship and glorify him in all we do.

Merry Christmas