Reflect: Have you ever met a shepherd? When I was in Romania in
2005, I was able to share the Gospel with a man who was a shepherd. He was
rough around the edges. Very weathered face and hands. When we met he was
wearing full rain gear – bright yellow slicker, boots, floppy hat. Romania was
experiencing heavy rain and devastating flooding at the time. This man’s name
was Tom. He was very receptive to listening to the Gospel because he had lost
all hope in life. He had been caring for a large herd of sheep. They were
grazing in a pasture and some wandered close to the main road. A car came
barreling down the road, lost control and killed several sheep. The sheep’s
owner not only fired him, they had him arrested for negligence. The court
levied a heavy fine against him - - 2 yrs wages (about $100) was the penalty. Tom
was reaching out for anything that might help him make sense of this loss of
job and wages. He would most likely be losing his home and of course, no one
would want to hire him as shepherd. Although he listened quite intently to what
I had to say, he declined to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior. He did,
however, ask me to pray for him for deliverance from alcohol, which I was glad
to do. That incident really helped me put the role of shepherds into proper
perspective. Shepherds hold the life and well-being of each and every sheep in
their hands. If they take their eyes off the sheep for even a minute, there
could be dire consequences. So, even at night, while the rest of the world
sleeps, shepherds must keep watch over their flocks. I imagine that they spend
a lot of time listening for the sounds of approaching intruders, watching the
sky for signs of changes in the wind and weather, always very aware of all that
is going on in and around the flock.
Read: Luke 2:8-11 “And there were shepherds living
out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of
the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they
were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘do not be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been
born to you; He is Christ the Lord.’”
Pray: Father, thank You for revealing Yourself to
the shepherds first, for sharing the most incredible news of all with these men
who appeared to be poor and insignificant, but who were actually diligent, caring and watchful over their sheep. Thank You so much for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be our Shepherd!
Celebrate: We have a Shepherd who watches over us and cares for us!!