The Glory of the Lord

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE GLORY OF THE LORD

Luke 2:8-15

8 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 of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

 

Who would not be a bit unsure, terrified, in fact, if in the middle of the night a light so bright, the glory of God, shining all around us, unexpected to say the least? Here these simple shepherds, although David, who became the greatest king Israel ever had, had his roots as a simple shepherd, were sitting around watching over their sheep in the quiet of the night, and out of nowhere, the glory of the Lord appears to them, and an angel appears. We do wonder about why the angels appeared to these shepherds, rather than announcing the coming of the Lord to all the other people near Bethlehem. Surely there were more important people in the area than shepherds, unless a shepherd held the most esteemed position in the society of that day. Sure, the three wise men came from another land, keeping their path directed to a special light in the sky. But no angel appeared to them nor did the glory of the Lord shone around them. We might never see the glory of the Lord shone around us, but there is no doubt that we have the glory of the Lord dwelling within, and hopefully shining within us, so that we reflect the glory of the Lord in ever-increasing glory. The fact the angels picked the shepherds to announce the Savior seems to tell us a bit of the truth. Although God wants all men to come to the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ, it does make it clearer seeing this narrative about the shepherds. God does not just want the best educated, the most influential, the wealthiest, the most skilled or talented, but God desires all people, no matter their rank in life, to know about Jesus. We are living proof of that truth for we are none of those things, but just simple people with simple thoughts, with nearly little education, no influence, certainly of little income compared to many, and having no skill or talent, yet God made himself known to us, and in fact, filled us with His Holy Spirit, called us to be the person of God for His purpose. When the angels left the shepherds, after they had seen the glory of the Lord and heard what the truth was, their response was, “Let’s go to see what has happened, which the Lord has told them”. Because we have the glory of the Lord all around us as He is within us, should not our response be, Let’s go and see”? Should we not always be looking, always being aware of what the Lord has done? The shepherd went to see the Savior of the world. We have seen the Savior of the world, perhaps not in the physical sense the shepherds did, but we have seen Him in our spirit because the Holy Spirit bears witness within us, and having this glory of the Lord within is enough that we should become the light of the world, as Jesus told us we are. When we get that, then we are that bright light in the dark of night the world lives in shining all around them.