Luke 2:17-20

Posted by DJL on Dec 27, 2012 in Christmas Devotions | 0 comments

When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

All that’s left now is to tell.

That’s the way good news works. It comes your way, often catching you off guard, takes your breath away, leaving you with much to ponder – how did this happen? is it really true? what will life be like now? – and then suddenly you realize you have to tell someone about it.

Because that’s just the way good news works. It doesn’t really find its completion until it’s been shared.

And so we wonder…and we ponder…and we revel…but sooner or later we need to tell. Not just “want to tell,” but actually need to. Because good news isn’t really and fully as good as it was meant to be until it’s shared.

You’ve probably experienced moments like that: an engagement, a pregnancy, a promotion, a compliment, a beautiful vista, a wonderful meal, a homecoming. Large or small, personal or public, there’s something about the truly blessed events in our lives that demand sharing in order to experience them fully.

And so the shepherds return to their fields, take up their lonely posts, return to their arduous and thankless work. It’s all the same. Nothing really has changed.

And yet… and yet everything has changed. They have heard and seen and experienced a taste of God’s redemption. And so they go back to the same thing as different people. They return to their same lives with a sense that their lives will never be the same again. And as they go they praise God and tell others of what they have seen and heard. And in so doing they are blessed once again.

That’s just the way good news works.

Dear God: Inspire and encourage us to tell others of the blessings of our life that we may be blessed once again as the good news we tell takes root in our hearts and lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.