PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Luke 2:8-14
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“And the glory of the Lord shone around them.” (Luke 2:9)
I want to bring great joy to all people, like the angel did.
But can I share Jesus with the same effect of the angels?
They had the added advantage the ‘glory of the Lord’.
The glory of the Lord is the presence and power of God.
And it is God’s presence and power that makes our witness effective.
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words
But with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4)
When I struggle to share Jesus, I need to remember this.
I have the same backing as the angels did, God will use me too.
Sharing Jesus today is hard, people are done with God, religion and Jesus.
I’m not going to be able to convince anyone to believe in him.
My job is not to convince people, but to share him by showing him.
Like the angels, point to Jesus in his humble love and mercy.
And trust that God’s glory will shine through me as I do!
PRAYER
Lord, I do not need to shine, I need to focus on you and let you shine. May people see your glory reflected through me.
I imagine having an angel come to me – in dazzling brilliance. With the backdrop of the night, those shepherds really did get a fright: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” But it’s not just the angel – but “the glory of the Lord shone around them”. Is the glory – the dazzling light? From what I read elsewhere the ‘glory of the Lord’ has to do with the magnificence, the majesty, the awesomeness of the Lord. The angel is bathed in that glory as he makes that announcement – and then is joined by a whole chorus of angels – just multiplying the magnificence, the awesomeness of God’s glory. I would be terrified too! But I need not fear like the angel said! I need to shine too as I live for him!
And the glory of the Lord shone around them. The shepherds. Not priests or the rich or people of influence. But shepherds. Those who took care of the sheep – kept watch over them, protected them, defended them, befriended them, called them by name, rescued them . . . The heavenly host praised God as did the shepherds when they heard the good news. Hallelujah. Praise God for this was also a foreshadowing of what Christ would do – my Shepherd. And as the shepherds left the child they too proclaimed the good news. So must I share the wonderful story of Jesus and His love.
1 I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory,
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story
because I know it’s true;
it satisfies my longings
as nothing else can do.
Refrain:
I love to tell the story;
’twill be my theme in glory
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.