I Want to Be A Part

*I took the picture of this scenery in Israel. It is believed to be the location of the Shepherd's Field where they saw the star.*

Have you ever longed to be a part of the inner circle? It’s easy to wonder if the people around you know you exist. Possibly they know your name, but do they know the real you?

Well, I want to share a secret with you. I have NEVER met someone who hasn’t asked these questions! You are not alone!

The shepherds who worshiped Jesus the night he was born were probably some of the most undervalued and overlooked men in their town. Imagine with me what it was like to be one of them:

You’ve been in the sun all day, trying to keep your sheep alive by herding them to your secret food and water sources. Maybe they’ve been cooperative, but probably a few had to be chased down and herded back to the flock. Today is just one more day you’ve spent isolated from society, working a job that prevents you from obeying Jewish laws. You break all the laws of the Sabbath, and you know you will never get to pray or praise God in the temple.

The closest you will come to worship is keeping these sheep in ideal conditions so they can be sacrificed to pay for the sins of your friends and family. You wish your love for the sheep could earn you a bit of righteousness, but the scornful look of the Pharisee tells you otherwise. Maybe you wanted to be a part of God’s Kingdom, but you gave up feeling like you had a place in that world long ago.

Then, one night while resting under the stars, angels from heaven appear to you saying, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” You think, “To me? Why would the Savior be born to me?” But there’s no time to think now because they are speaking. “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-12 NIV)

You have so many questions, but they all disappear behind a sky filled with angels singing. Could it be? Has God finally honored your service, the longing in your heart to be a part His Kingdom?

Your unlikely group races to Bethlehem and finds the baby. You grin when you see him for the first time because you see the clue the angel mentioned, "You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12 NKJV). “Swaddling cloths” may have not meant anything to the everyday person, but since you’re a shepherd, you know that only the spotless lambs used in the temple have the honor of being wrapped in “swaddling cloths” as they come out of the womb.

You whisper to Mary your secret, “I know he is the Spotless Lamb of God". She grins, comforted by your testimony. You have not only become part of God’s special story, but your presence has given the mother of your Savior courage to live out her calling.

If you’ve been feeling ostracized or unnoticed, I hope you find comfort in the fact that God went out of his way to include a "few outcasts” in the most significant event in history! I have a feeling He's reaching out to you also, but when we’re hurting it’s hard to see His work in our lives. If this is you, will you let me pray for you?

“Jesus, I pray for my friend who feels like you have abandoned him or her. I pray in your name that they would feel your presence beside them right now, in this moment. And I pray that in the next few days their eyes would be opened in a miraculous way to how much you love them now, in the past and every day they have coming. Let it be!"

See you next week!

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God went out of his way to include a "few outcasts” in the most significant event in history! Read about it on my blog: http://goo.gl/esYyKu
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 http://goo.gl/esYyKu
The shepherds had so many questions but they disappeared behind a sky full of angels singing. http://goo.gl/esYyKu

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I Want to Find

I Want to Serve