As we quickly approach Christmas, the magic is growing. Do you see it? Can you feel it? The shepherds sure did on that starry night so long ago. 

Luke 2:8-12 NIV reads;

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

I cannot see things that are often right in front of my face. Seriously. I am slightly sight-impaired. It has gotten to be a bit of a joke with my friends. But not seeing sometimes doesn’t have anything to do with our eyes.

When we look at the shepherds, it isn’t coincidental that an angel appeared to them, those lowly shepherds. God chose to reveal, through God’s glory, the birth of our Lord and Savior. There was a reason for this.

Shepherds watch over the flock. They care for the flock, make sure they stay together, that they aren’t stolen or eaten by savage animals. The shepherds keep them safe.

Sheep, however, are not the brightest animals. They wander around grazing, not paying attention where they are going. Often they find themselves far away from the safety of the flock. But even though the sheep might be lost, the shepherd always knows where they are. Odd that Jesus would compare us to His sheep?

I guess it isn’t ironic at all that God would choose to proclaim this spectacular event to these lowly shepherds, knowing that one day, the very child that was born that night would later grow to become our Good Shepherd. God is so good!

Jesus is our Good Shepherd.

God didn’t want those shepherds to miss this amazing occurrence. Because, sometimes you just can’t see the things that are right in front of your face. So God lit up the sky that night with His glory, announcing that the Messiah, the Lord had been born to them. Not that the King of kings had been born, but that He had been born to them, to me and to you. This is too big of a miracle for any of us to miss.

God revealed Himself through this heavenly proclamation, ‘Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” God is announcing the revelation of Himself through the birth of this child.

In Psalm 23 , David declares “The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.” God is preparing the way for Jesus to become our Good Shepherd even before his birth. There are no coincidences with God and God does not intend for us to miss it.

In John 10:11- NIV;  Jesus takes on the title himself by saying, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…”

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Don’t miss the miracle.