When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told. Luke 2:15-20 (HCSB)
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God's ways are sometimes mysterious and unexpected. Imagine the shepherd's surprise at an angel's announcement to them, lowly shepherds! Imagine Mary and Joseph's surprise when shepherds show up to see their newborn son — and with the story of an angelic announcement! Imagine the oddity of the glorious announcement juxtaposed with the tiny baby lying in a feeding trough. But it didn't prevent the shepherds from continuing to praise God, for the scene was exactly as the angel had described it. The glory of God is sometimes seen in unexpected ways and places.
Mary treasured this event and meditated on it. She knew her baby was a gift from God but the conditions of his birth, surrounded by animals, must have seemed much less than the royal welcome an eternal king deserved. Yet here was the story of an angelic announcement that validated her own angelic message. God's ways are mysterious and unexpected.
Do we take the time to let the significance of Jesus' coming sink in to our hearts and minds, treasuring and meditating on this event that we celebrate so lavishly? It was no small decision for God to humble himself to enter his creation. It was no small decision for Jesus to die on a cross. It was the greatest act of love imaginable.
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Holy God, I praise you whose ways are glorious and often mysterious and unexpected. Thank you for demonstrating how much you love me. Please help me to treasure and meditate on your love and your glory as you reveal them to me. Glory to God in the highest! Amen.
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Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Illustration from Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing
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