Oh that such evangelistic fervor would seize us! The shepherds knew only the beginning of the tale yet they could not keep silent about the little the Lord had revealed to them. We, on the other hand, know the story in its fulness yet how loath we often are to spread the joyful news to those around us. True, people may not listen to us and may scorn us, but that didn’t stop these common shepherds who were probably despised as simpletons who wanted to create a big story. Note that it doesn’t seem like the shepherds’ testimonies had much of an impact for the Bible doesn’t record that anyone did anything other than wonder at their tale (v. 18). And "wonder" doesn't necessarily imply something positive. Even so, this did not stop the shepherds for their excitement over what God had revealed to them could not be contained! They just had to tell others!
And we who claim to actually have a relationship with God Himself and know the price our Messiah had to pay to bring about this reconciliation–where is our excitement? Why are we so silent when we have seen far more than angels singing in the sky or an infant in a manger? We have seen with the eyes of faith the Lamb, broken upon the altar of redemption. We have seen the glorious, risen Lord. We have seen the crowned Son Himself who is the fullness of revelation! And how can we keep such news to ourselves? Oh that our joy in the Savior and His proclamation of good news would not be contained by either self-conciousness or "political correctness."
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