So we are stepping back in time from yesterday's post, to when the angels visited the shepherds, who were considered outcasts in their society...
(Luke 2:1-20) Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
From this we see:
- angels deliver messages (2:9)
- people can experience fear when they see an angel (2:9)
- a multitude of angels are able to appear at the same time (2:13)
- the multitude of angels appear and praise God (2:13-14)
- maybe angels tend to disappear upwards (2:15a)
Personal experience: God does not discriminate. Shepherd or magi. Man or woman. Young or old. Rich or poor...
I remember (years ago) there was a couple who got up front and gave the announcement to our little church that they were leaving. They were going to be attending a bigger (and very established) church across the city, because they were moving. They had bought a house in a very affluent community because - they claimed - they felt led to bring the gospel to the rich.
Now - that is great! Everyone needs to hear the the gospel message! And there will be times we are called to a very particular place or called to do a very specific thing. But things like living in a nice area or getting a high-paying job are not wrong in themselves. We do not need to justify them, unless we are putting these things first in our lives, ahead of God. Wherever we are in life - we need to be "a missionary"!
What it comes down to is this - what are our motives behind the things we say and do? We should not use spiritual "works" as an excuse to move up the social ladder, or move to a particularly beautiful European country, or try to impress a specific group of people... Let's be honest with ourselves and NOT play games.
Now I will also use myself as an example - of what not to do. We were getting a lot of phone calls from the same spam-scam-artist. And it was getting very annoying. I tried reasoning with them a few times, but it seemed to amp up the amount of calls we got. So I told my husband, "Next time, I'm going to share the gospel message with them!" I laughed. My husband didn't find it funny at all and reminded me to check my motives!
Ah-huh. Yep. Those motives of wanting to scare them off, were wrong. So - okay - I'm now going to pray - that my motives will be pure. I really do want to share the gospel message with those people! The next time the phone rang, I quickly prayed for God to give me a sincere love.
I answered the phone. I let the guy give his intro speech. And then I told him that, while I didn't require his services, I did want to share with him some very good news about how God wants to have a personal relationship with him- click. They never called back. I was kind of sad about that.
Today's takeaway: no one is unimportant in God's kingdom. Jesus came to die for everyone. Including the outcasts! Let us be very careful that our motives are pure and that we do not give preferential treatment to the rich...
(Luke 14:7-14) And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. 13 But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
(James 2:1-13) My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?
8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
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