Hope for Ones Farthest Away
The Shepherds are my favorite characters of the Christmas story. Why? Because, here is God giving hope to the lowest group in the social order of the day. They are the ones considered farthest from God. They are the “rednecks” of the Christmas story. They’re the ones nobody cared about. If there is hope for these guys, then there is hope for all of us!
Shepherds in first century culture were ceremonially unclean – always around manure and dead animals. Although they provided animals to be used in the temple worship, they were excluded from it. There were rituals they could perform that would make them acceptable for worship, but this would require them to leave the sheep, which they couldn’t do. At the time of Christ, worship was associated with the temple. If you couldn’t go to the temple you couldn’t really worship God. The shepherds lived in this spiritual dilemma.
What is so great about the Christmas story is that, although culture considered them unworthy, God chose these lowly shepherds to be the first ones to know about his Son’s birth. No one is too far from God!
Many people today consider themselves not worthy or too far from God. They may think all the wrong things they have done in life have made it impossible for God to want them. I’ve invited plenty of people to church over the years, and some say things like, “You don’t want me coming. If I’d walk in there the roof would cave in on me.” OR, “God would probably ZAP me.” These comments indicate a belief that they’ve gone too far, done too much, waited too late, and/or are hope.
The truth is that Jesus coming as a baby was a demonstration of God’s love. What makes us acceptable to God is not our behavior, but forgiveness through Jesus. The angels showing up to the shepherds is proof that no one is too far away from God. In Jeremiah 31:3, God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” If you want to know how God feels about you today, there it is: God loves you with an everlasting love. You haven’t gone – and can’t go – too far for God’s love.