Monday Meditation
My wife and daughter and I went to see The Nativity Story yesterday. So, it's on my heart and mind. Now, I'm no Molak-Jedi, but here goes...It may be that God used unworthy shepherds to prove a point. There were no good reasons why God should have invited shepherds to the birth of Jesus. They were the last group of Jews you would have wanted around at the birth; but precisely because they were not expected, precisely because they shouldn't have been there, precisely because of their bad reputations; God made his point.
The shepherds came to Jesus because God extended them an invitation they couldn't refuse. The shepherds came, not because they were worthy, but because God invited them.
That is the way the Gospel works. We are not worthy to come to Jesus. We might not be as bad as the shepherds. We have much better reputations than shepherds did. We certainly smell better than the shepherds did; but still, it is only by God's invitation that we have come to Jesus. It is only through the power of God that we are able to believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
We deserve nothing that God has given us; but God has been good to us – amazingly good to us. God not only invited shepherds to see and believe in Jesus; God has also invited each of us to see and believe in Jesus as the savior of the world and our own savior. Then, after each of us finds our "way to Bethlehem," God sends us back home as changed people; to change our world.
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posted by TheOldMan @ 4:33 PM
