Monday, December 7, 2020

The Sign


"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

The angel bypassed Jerusalem and the religious folks of that day and appeared to a band of shepherds living in the fields. 

No one back then would have thought that shepherds would be interested in such things, for they were rough men, more like Idaho’s hardscrabble Owyhee County buckaroos than the spick and span shepherds we associate with the story these days.

Yet, like all of us, they were spiritual men, for “spiritual” is not something we seek, but “something we are and cannot escape” (Philosopher Dallas Willard). In all of us there is a deep, insatiable hunger for transcendence, an longing for an elusive “something more,” for which our hearts break with longing.

Here is our satisfaction: “Today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you; he is Christ the Lord.” 

The shepherds, when they heard this promise, went off to search for the baby. They skirted the resorts, spas and lodges of the rich and famous (there were no feed troughs there) and went looking for a stockyard, a feedlot, or a corral. They found the baby “nearby” (They had no idea how near he was), lying in a manger—the "Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

Let’s hear it for the shepherds who found salvation that night. Let’s hear it for a God who humbles himself to save—the only God for you and me.

The shepherds found the baby nearby—it was easy to find him. I hope you’ve found him too. If not, I hope you’re still seeking him. Wise men and women still do.

If you’re seeking him, I can tell you where to find him. He’s not in our culture, devoid as it is of any indication that our Savior was born.

Not to worry, however: he’s still very near: “This will be the sign to you: You will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

David Roper

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