When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough. Luke 2:15-16 HCSB
We have a very nice ceramic nativity set that my wife’s mother and father made for us years ago. Each piece is hand-painted and is one of our treasured possessions. Every year as we decorate our home for Christmas, we carefully unwrap each piece and place it in the stable that was built by my father-in-law for the nativity set. The nativity set reminds us of the “reason” for the season. Christmas has become such a secular holiday that is all about buying and receiving gifts that too often the baby Jesus is forgotten in the business of the season.
The shepherds did not hesitate. They did not wait until morning. They responded immediately and left the fields in the darkness of the night and went to Bethlehem to see if what the angel had told them was actually true. Notice that the shepherds went straight to Bethlehem, they did not take a detour. They were in a hurry to go and see the Messiah, the baby Jesus. Surely, excitement was in each step as they headed for Bethlehem.
Challenge: Do you have the same excitement you did when you first received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Are you excited about meeting and developing a relationship with Jesus? Thank God for sending His Son to earth to live a perfect life and then to die as a sacrifice for your sins so you might have forgiveness and eternal life.