Today’s reading: Luke 2:8-21
My favorite part of the Christmas story is the shepherd’s interaction with the angel of the Lord and then the appearance of a large assembly of angels. I love that God chose common, working people to be the first to receive the news of Jesus’s earthly arrival paired with the message of salvation for ALL people.
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord'” (vs. 10-11).
Today as I read this familiar passage, God impressed on my heart what I’ll call the cycle of Good News. Let me explain. The angel of the Lord brings the message of Jesus–the Good News of salvation–to the shepherds. So the shepherds hear and receive the salvation message. Then they go to Bethlehem where they have a personal encounter with the Good News, Jesus Christ. That encounter changes their lives forever, and they respond by immediately going and telling the Good News message to whomever they encounter.
Hearing the Good News of salvation leads to personally encountering the Person of the Good News, Jesus, and our response is to then share (go and tell) the Good News with others.
The Christmas season provides many opportunities to tell others about Jesus and salvation. There are countless people all around us who need to hear the Good News. There’s still plenty of time to invite someone to church this weekend. Who can and will you invite to encounter Jesus in a personal way this Christmas? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog
