Skip to main content

First Christmas Messaging

If you had an important message to share, who would you share it with to insure that the message gets out?  

The political leaders?

The religious leaders?

The rich?

The powerful?

To those with the greatest influence?

The people who have access to modes of communication?

Just my impressions, but it seems to me that:

If you sent it to the political leaders, they might use it for political gain.

If you sent it to the religious leaders, they might filter it to reflect their views.

If you sent it to the rich, they might leverage it for financial gain.

If you sent it the powerful, they might use it to further consolidate their power.

If you sent it to those with the greatest influence, they might use it advance their agenda.

If you sent it to those who have access to modes of communication, they might shape it fit their optics.

The message was this:  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.”  (Luke 2:10)

The “them” was a bunch of shepherds.  At that time, shepherds were on the low end of the social economic ladder.  They spent most of their time with animals and probably didn’t have much of a voice in society.  Yet, these are the very ones to whom the message of the arrival of a Savior was first shared.  

And look at the shepherds handled the message:  “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”  (Luke 2:20)

While the other people described above might have been an obvious first choice, the message might not have gone forth in its intended form.  But the shepherds received it, believed it and acknowledged it as it had been told to them.  Proof once again that God’s messaging is always best.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Horse Of Course

In Biblical times, horses represented military power and strength.  And if you had both horses and chariots, well, that was the ultimate of military powers and wars were often won with them. Yet in seeking to have what would normally be considered insurmountable military strength, there was one factor that was often overlooked.  The Psalmist made it clear what that factor was when he wrote:  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”   (Ps 20:7) While Israel did at times trust in the name of the Lord, there were other times when they tried to trust in horses and chariots to win their battles.  This is what the Lord spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:  “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,   who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots   and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .”  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stouthearted!

Steve the Stouthearted; it has a nice medieval ring to it, maybe even middle earth overtones.  I noticed that word “stouthearted” recently in Psalm 138, verse 3:   “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.”   (NIV, 1973) The word stouthearted is used in the Bible to describe individuals who exhibit courage, determination, and resilience, often in the face of adversity or opposition. This characteristic is seen as a virtue, reflecting steadfastness in faith and purpose. The stouthearted are those who remain firm in their convictions and are not easily swayed by fear or doubt (from The Bible Hub website). And yet to be bold and stouthearted for most is not something that just comes naturally, we need the Lord to make us bold and stouthearted.   And, from the verse above, it appears that he does so in response to us calling on him.   So it probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that those who have been made bold and stouth...
Post a Comment
Read more