Profiles of the Advent – The Shepherds

“And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.” – Matthew 2:18

There is nothing quite like experiencing the wonder and awe of God Almighty.

Look at the example of the shepherds who eventually visited Jesus at His birth. The shepherds were going about their business of protecting the sheep from predators at night. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual or out of the ordinary, maybe the cry of a distant wolf or the screech of an owl.

All of the sudden, the peace and quiet is broken by the sudden appearance of some kind of creature and probably a bright light as the “glory of The Lord shone around them” (Matthew 2:9). Naturally, they were scared out of their wits! A wolf, panther or mountain lion was one thing, but this was something entirely different! They were told not to be scared, and were told of the news that the promised Messiah had been born. Then this creature was surrounded by hundreds, thousands, maybe bazillions of other creatures who praised God.

The shepherds went into the city to find the newborn baby. They were so excited over the news that they left praising God and telling everyone about what they had seen and heard. The expression of their account so impressed those who heard it that they “wondered at the the things which were told them by the shepherds.”

Even more amazing than that news and experience is the very God Almighty whom we serve! Psalm 8:4 exclaims, “What is man that You take thought of him?” It is utterly amazing that the same God who made some 350,000,000,000 galaxies and spins them all in an orderly orbit still knows how many hairs are on my head! We should take time to wonder in the awe-ness that is God Almighty!

In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan writes, “We are a culture that relies on technology over community, a society in which written and spoken words are cheap, easy to come by, and excessive. Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost unheard of. We are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry. The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him. It may seem a hopeless endeavor, to gaze at the invisible God. But Romans 1:20 tells us that through creation, we see His ‘invisible qualities’ and ‘divine nature.'”

Let us take time each day, before we start and end our day, before we pray, and in all that we do, to take time to wonder in the might and awe of God Almighty.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count. – Psalm 40:5