Luke 2:15-20
If an angel spoke to you would you know it?
People have an enormous hunger for the spiritual. While the idea of God and spiritual beings may be easily dismissed in a philosophy class, we are not so sure. Our own mortality convinces us that we are more than just flesh and blood. We hunger for hope that life means more than eking out a daily existence and just staying alive.
by Mac
The shepherds, keeping watch over their sheep in the fields at night, received a revelation from heavenly messengers who announced that the world’s Savior had been born. They could have easily dismissed the angelic messengers by saying: “We had some bad wine with supper last night. You would not believe what we saw! Visions! Angels!” No doubt they did say, “We are just poor shepherds. Why would angels come to us?”
The uneducated shepherds did something that educated people often do not do: they decided to check out the message for themselves. No second-guessing for them. And surprise, surprise, they found the Savior of the world right where the angels said He would be. And they returned home glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard!
When was the last time God surprised you? Are you even open to that possibility? God does not surprise us just with angelic choirs. We can experience Him in something as simple as a beautiful sunset or the colors of leaves in the fall. Simple things can become avenues for seeing the holy. Messengers of good news are all around us if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. This Advent season would be the perfect time to be open to the God of Surprises.
Rob and Bettina Sandford