“Ding dong…Ding dong” I was surprised to hear someone pressed our doorbell in one of the late nights last week as I was not expecting any visitor.  Opened the door and here came my son’s friend. I then realize that my son who just came back from college for a break was inviting his friends over to have a hang-out.

This experience reminds me of another unexpected guest entered our human world two thousand years ago. It was an angel of the Lord who was “ding dong-ing” the human world to tell us that today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord今天在大衛的城裡，為你們生了救主，就是主基督 (Luke 2:11). The announcement of the birth of God’s son – Jesus Christ – which was carried out by the angel is rather uncommon and peculiar. Because it was announced to the lowly shepherds, who were living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks at night, instead of high authority at that time. The reaction of the shepherds was, however, terrified initially when the glory of the Lord shone around them. I can imagine myself would be in the same boat when I see the glory of the Lord. In fact, prophet Isaiah had the same reaction – he cried out “Woe to me! I am ruined!” when he saw the glory of God in the temple (Isaiah 6:5). Bible told us clearly that a sinful man can’t approach the holy God without His merciful covering – His son Jesus. Seeing the reaction of the shepherds, we can observe that the announcement of the birth of Jesus is a glorious message from God. And, the announcement of the news is intended for general public instead of special people.

How about the response of the shepherds after they received this unexpected visit from the angel?  Gospel Luke told us that they “hurried off and found” Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child他們急忙去了，就尋見馬利亞和約瑟，又有那嬰孩臥在馬槽裡。既然看見，就把天使論這孩子的話傳開了。(Luke 2:16-17).  From the shepherds’ reaction we can learn two things.

Firstly, the shepherds decided to react to the message delivered by the angel. They didn’t just sit there shocked and amazed but instead, they hurried off to find the baby Jesus. However, the only sign that the angel gave to them is: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Have you ever wondered how difficult it is to find the baby during the late night especially when the names of his parents and location are unknown? These difficulties, however, didn’t deter the shepherds’ determination and enthusiasm at that time.  They found the baby!  I think God’s Positioning System (GPS) is definitely better than today’s GPS. 🙂

Secondly, the shepherds followed up with an action of spreading the word concerning Jesus to others after seeing Him. That means the shepherds become messengers of the good news. Again, let me post a question here. Have you ever wondered how confident people have in listening to the news told by the shepherds? Probably not very high, right? Luke told us that all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them (Luke 2:18). There may be a doubt exists in people’s mind, but the shepherds were not! Because they have seen God’s glory and they have seen Jesus personally!

From shepherds’ responses to the unexpected visit of the angel of the Lord, there is definitely something that we can ponder. The first one is “Have we taken God’s message seriously?” At this Christmas season, do we really concern about the news of the birth of Jesus – the unexpected guest to us or our own desires? Do we have the attitude of seeking Him first and follow His command to spread the good news?  My dear brothers and sisters, let’s learn from the shepherds to be a good messenger of the Lord and remember that He is Immanuel!

Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks