Amazing!

"They spread the word ... about this child."
Luke 2:17 NIV

It's Christmas! Time for parties, parades, and presents - and that's okay. But the real story transcends these things. To get the most out of it, take another look at:

 
(a) The shepherds. Sheep-herders had so little status in first-century Israel that they weren't even deemed reliable enough to testify in court. Yet God chose them to announce His son's arrival, and they in turn went out and told it to the world! Luke records: 'When they had seen Him, they spread the word' (Luke 2:17 NIV). Here's your answer to 'could God use someone like me?' You don't need to be a seminary graduate or be polished and eloquent. Just tell people what you've seen and heard, and the change Christ has made in your life. Share the Word; God will do the rest!

(b) Those who heard their story. 'All who heard it were amazed' (Luke 2:18 NIV). God's grace still amazes people. 'God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation' (2 Corinthians 5:19 NIV). Note the word 'reconciliation'. Your sin-debt is cancelled, your books reconciled, now you can have a relationship with God by simply trusting in Christ. Amazing!

(c) Mary. Luke writes 'Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart' (Luke 2:19 NIV). She wanted to understand what was taking place and how it related to her. And you need to do that too.

Get off the Christmas merry-go-round and take the time to treasure what's important here, and what it means for you. God became a man; that we, who are the sons of men, might become the sons of God.

Amazing!

Bill & Debby Gass