When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. -Luke 2:17-18
Last year, my most viewed Christmas devotion was one titled "Free Bacon". I started it with a story about how one morning I went to the grocery right after I got the kids on the bus and outside the store there was a truck giving away free samples of bacon and really good coupons for that bacon. I was so excited, I wanted to call everyone I knew and tell them that if they needed to go shopping, to go now because grocery shopping is way more fun to do if you get free bacon while you are doing it.
Now, not everyone may be as enthusiastic as I am about getting free bacon, but what if it was something else? What if you went shopping for a car and when you got to the dealership, they were giving a car to everyone that walked in the door? What if you went to the bank and everyone that walked in got $5,000 in cash? Would you not want to call everyone you knew to tell them to get down there so they could get those amazing gifts?
Now put yourself in the position of the shepherds in the verses above. You've just seen this amazing spectacle with the angels out in the field, they tell you that the Messiah that your people have been waiting thousands of years for has been born and this Messiah is in walking distance of your house. You rush there and find the baby...what do you want to do next??? Go and tell everyone you know!!!
I read an article yesterday about a PR representative of a company who posted a fairly offensive, racist tweet about AIDS in Africa and how she won't get it because she is white. She tweeted it just to her personal friends AND just before boarding an international flight that had no wi-fi. Before her plane landed, not only was her name the top trending hashtag on twitter, but various news outlets across the world had already been reporting on it. What was just a joke to a few friends before she boarded the plane had turned into international outrage by the time she got off the tarmac.
Imagine if there was a "twitter" at the time of Jesus' birth. I can only imagine what some of the trending hashtags would be. They would range from the serious, such as #Messiahisborn and #birthofourking, to the sarcastic, #crazyjewsatitagain, or #thingsdrunkshepherdssee.
People give Christians a lot of grief about wanting to "share" Jesus with people. Some of it is deserved, like the people who go door to door at 6 am wanting to tell everyone why they are a horrible person that is going to burn in eternal hell fire unless they start going to a particular church.....um, no thank you. Or the people who, instead of leaving a couple dollars on the restaurant table for the waitress' tip, they leave a business card that says something along the lines of, "This tip is more precious than gold," and is followed with John 3:16. Again...no thank you.
But for people who have really had Jesus Christ transform their lives, how can you not talk about it? If you've been given the gift of eternal life, how can you keep from sharing about it? While we should be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit is guiding us when we share Jesus with people, we should not be afraid to share. The shepherds couldn't contain themselves, they were so excited. We should be the same way. Our Savior has been born! Shout it from the mountain tops! Don't share with an agenda. Share out of joy!!! And word will spread, just like it did with the shepherds.
Last year, my most viewed Christmas devotion was one titled "Free Bacon". I started it with a story about how one morning I went to the grocery right after I got the kids on the bus and outside the store there was a truck giving away free samples of bacon and really good coupons for that bacon. I was so excited, I wanted to call everyone I knew and tell them that if they needed to go shopping, to go now because grocery shopping is way more fun to do if you get free bacon while you are doing it.
Now, not everyone may be as enthusiastic as I am about getting free bacon, but what if it was something else? What if you went shopping for a car and when you got to the dealership, they were giving a car to everyone that walked in the door? What if you went to the bank and everyone that walked in got $5,000 in cash? Would you not want to call everyone you knew to tell them to get down there so they could get those amazing gifts?
Now put yourself in the position of the shepherds in the verses above. You've just seen this amazing spectacle with the angels out in the field, they tell you that the Messiah that your people have been waiting thousands of years for has been born and this Messiah is in walking distance of your house. You rush there and find the baby...what do you want to do next??? Go and tell everyone you know!!!
I read an article yesterday about a PR representative of a company who posted a fairly offensive, racist tweet about AIDS in Africa and how she won't get it because she is white. She tweeted it just to her personal friends AND just before boarding an international flight that had no wi-fi. Before her plane landed, not only was her name the top trending hashtag on twitter, but various news outlets across the world had already been reporting on it. What was just a joke to a few friends before she boarded the plane had turned into international outrage by the time she got off the tarmac.
Imagine if there was a "twitter" at the time of Jesus' birth. I can only imagine what some of the trending hashtags would be. They would range from the serious, such as #Messiahisborn and #birthofourking, to the sarcastic, #crazyjewsatitagain, or #thingsdrunkshepherdssee.
People give Christians a lot of grief about wanting to "share" Jesus with people. Some of it is deserved, like the people who go door to door at 6 am wanting to tell everyone why they are a horrible person that is going to burn in eternal hell fire unless they start going to a particular church.....um, no thank you. Or the people who, instead of leaving a couple dollars on the restaurant table for the waitress' tip, they leave a business card that says something along the lines of, "This tip is more precious than gold," and is followed with John 3:16. Again...no thank you.
But for people who have really had Jesus Christ transform their lives, how can you not talk about it? If you've been given the gift of eternal life, how can you keep from sharing about it? While we should be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit is guiding us when we share Jesus with people, we should not be afraid to share. The shepherds couldn't contain themselves, they were so excited. We should be the same way. Our Savior has been born! Shout it from the mountain tops! Don't share with an agenda. Share out of joy!!! And word will spread, just like it did with the shepherds.
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