Friday Dec. 27
Scripture: Luke 2:20
Shepherds were on the outside looking in at Jewish religious society in the first century. Those shepherds who worked the night time shift were most likely watching sheep they didn’t own on open ranges for meager wages. They were most likely not often present in the synagogues because their professional hazards kept them unclean. And they were not the men you wanted your daughters to marry because their career earning potential was quite low.
Yet, they were exactly the people God chose to be the first to celebrate the birth of Christ. Maybe it was their status as semi-outcasts which made them the perfect people in God’s eyes to appreciate the magnitude of the Incarnation. Because the shepherds knew what it was like to be left out, they knew the importance of inviting others in. After seeing Jesus in the manger, as the angel told them he would be, the shepherds woke up the town to tell everyone the good news.
Can you remember what it is like to feel left out? If so, thank God for that memory. Perhaps we all need to remember what it is like to be left out, so that we will remember the importance of inviting others in.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, never allow me to think that you came just for me and people who look like me, think like me, or act like me. Remind me, daily, that you came for all. And show me how you are calling me to tell others of your goodness and grace. Amen.