Today’s Passage: Luke 2:15-20
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. — Luke 2:17-18
The first thought I had when I read this passage was wonder. These shepherds had just experienced true admiration, amazement, and awe when they encountered the Savior of the world. It made me think to myself, “when was the last time I experienced wonder?”
As the shepherds hear the good news, they are so overcome that they made haste to go and discover. They didn’t waste time, they didn’t overthink it, they didn’t distrust it or reject God’s words. They simply heard the message of the Lord, were overcome with wonder, and set out immediately for discovery. They found Jesus. The true joy and awe of discovering Jesus led them to tell others. We have God’s words, have a message from the Lord, and have discovered Jesus! We should do the same.
But for some reason there are so many of us walking around stuck. We are only able to see the here and now. The problem is we live in a world of cynics. Cynicism has crept into Christian life. Cynicism blinds us. What if the Shepherds were cynics? They would have never found true joy. Cynicism is not what God has called us to or desires for us. We were created for joy, we have purpose and eternity. Jesus coming to this earth fulfilled all of those things for us. He is our ultimate joy. The shepherds wondered, and they discovered their purpose and joy that beautiful night. And I’m so thankful they shared it with others.
The last thing their discovery of Jesus compelled them to do was to worship. True belief, true joy leads to worship. Every single word from the Bible should cause us to stop and wonder. Wonder and discovery should be an ever present state of being for the Christian.
Prayer
Let us fight the cynicism that can so quickly creep in. Let us be filled with the wonder of Jesus and His holy Word. Let us marvel at the gospel and have no other choice but to worship and share the gospel with others. Let this Christmas be a time of wonder and discovery. In Jesus’s name, amen.