“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.” Luke 2:1:20 ESV

The shepherds responded to the angel’s message by immediately going to Bethlehem to see the Promise of God in person. They arrived and told everyone what had happened to them, and what was told to them about the precious child of Mary. When they left, they returned giving glory and praise to God. Three very significant things stand out in the actions of these shepherds:

They responded right away to the word of God. The angel revealed God’s plan and invited them to go and see for themselves the great thing God was doing. That invitation was a call for them to be a part of the story, a part that would be shared for generations to come. These simple, unnamed people who were doing their job, responded in faith and they did so right away.

Often, God extends a call to people, inviting them to join in the great story of the transformation of the world, only to have them say, “I’ll have to look into that sometime,” or, “Isn’t that nice, somebody should get involved with that.” We are tempted to postpone our response to the call, or ignore it all together.

The shepherds, did not wait. They left their work, their peace, and their comfort, and went to follow the call of God. God said, “Go and see,” and they did. Faith in God says, “Yes!” Then, it demonstrates that yes by putting faith into action.

They told everyone what they experienced, saw, and heard. As someone once told me, our relationship with God is very personal, but it is never private. The message of the Lord is not just for us, but it is meant to be shared with others. Too often we are afraid of what others will think of us. Will we be seen as crazy? What if people question our experience? We can already hear people saying, “Aren’t you taking this God thing too far?” or, “You heard from God? Really?” So we keep the message to ourselves and try to fit in with those around us.

The shepherds could not keep it in. They saw angels! They received the message! How could they deny their experience? How could they not make known the great thing God was doing? The same questions apply to each of us who experiences the revelation of God in our lives. How can we stay silent when God is speaking? What difference does it make what others think of us when God trusts us with his word? Instead, we should embrace the words of old hymn of the church, “I love to tell the story!”

They continued to give glory and praise to God. They did not walk away from their encounter with Jesus, keeping it to themselves, and returning to business as usual. No, they were changed by that experience, and it produced a heart set on praising God and giving him glory. This moment in time, that most of the world missed, became a life-changing reality for them. They could not go back to who they were before, and the cry of their heart became a declaration of praise to God.

We were made for praise. Once we encounter Jesus, our hearts cry out as well. Our lives are different simply because of our experience with the Savior. The only authentic response to the work of Christ in our lives is to glorify God and offer our praise. Like any type of witness, we can only tell the truth of what we have seen and heard and, when it comes to God, that witness always involves a voice of praise.

As we continue to live in the true joy of Christmas, may we take direction from these faithful shepherds who, having had an encounter with God, were never the same, and could not keep from telling anyone who would listen!