HONORING GOD AND EACH
OTHER
At the Christmas party, I was
honored with a special hardhat and a $1000 travel voucher, for ten years of
continuous service. I had no idea I was getting it, so the blessing was
especially sweet. In the Bible, wise men from the East came to honor Jesus,
bringing Him gifts. These men
watched and studied the skies and knew from the lineup of the planets and
stars, that a great king had been born, a king worthy of honor. “And when
they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother,
and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11).
The
shepherds honored the baby Jesus in a different way. They were “abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). The angel of the Lord came and
told them that they were in the right place at the right time and it was to
them that this blessing had come.
How
often are we going about our normal routines, endeavoring to do God’s will the
best we can, and all of a sudden we meet someone new who really blesses our
lives? Or we’re inspired to get in a certain grocery line and end up blessing a
total stranger? We end up in the right place at the right time to either be
blessed or be a blessing. Hebrews 13:2 even tells us we should “be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
That’s what
happened to the shepherds. They were in the hills by Bethlehem and that’s where
God wanted them. The angel of God found them and told them the good news. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord
came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were
sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is
Christ the Lord” (Luke 2: 9-11).
This
event brought “glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (v.14). The
shepherds went down into the city of Bethlehem to witness this for themselves.
The Bible doesn’t
say anything about them honoring Jesus with physical gifts like the wise men
did later on, but the shepherds honored Jesus by telling people what the angel
told them and what they actually witnessed themselves. That’s how they honored
God—by telling other people about the great things God did and was doing even
now.
“And when they [the shepherds] had seen it, they made known abroad
the saying which was told them concerning this child. And
all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the
shepherds. And the shepherds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was
told unto them” (vv. 17,18 and 20).
Gift-giving originated with God. Right after God created
Adam, He gave him a gift. “And the Lord God
planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to
the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,
and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2: 8-9).
The idea of honoring God and others came straight from our
creator and has happily invaded all cultures of the world.
This Christmas let’s think about honoring each with our gifts
and our respect. And most of all, let’s give some special attention to how we
can honor God and our Savior, Christ the Lord.
Love, Carolyn
My
booklet WINGS: A DEVIL ON EVERY DOOR KNOB: And the Faith to Know
What to Do About It
https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-DEVIL-EVERY-Faith-About-ebook/dp/B01IJ95MME/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=cea5ec8ba746cc4a9a72789f59c8bf23&creativeASIN=B01IJ95MME#navbar
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