Glorify & Praise God

Scriptures: “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:20)

Over the Christmas break, I heard a Christmas related joke. It goes like this: A boy was told to draft a note to the Lord for the Christmas gifts he would like to have this year. So, he started by writing, “Dear Lord, I would like to have lots of candies, cookies, and toys because I have been good for the last 6 months.” Then he paused, hesitated, and went back and erased “6 months” and wrote, “couple of weeks.” Again, he hesitated and went back and erased “couple of weeks” and replaced with “few days.” Still not satisfied, he erased again and, thought for a while, went over to the nativity, grabbed Mary, and come back to complete his request by writing, “because I have your mom.”

Now, this is a joke, of course. But it does say something about the emphasis on gifts for Christmas in our modern culture. Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about the true meaning of Christmas and about what we really take away from the celebration of Christmas.

Christmas truly represents the beginning of the new relationship between man and God made possible in Jesus. It represents the grace of God, a door through which all who choose to enter will be liberated from the power of sin and death and be ushered into the riches of God. As such, it is a gift from God. But the question is, other than the gift, what do we take away with us from this sacrificial and self-less giving of God?

When this good news of great joy was first revealed to the shepherds in the fields, their first response was, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (Luke 2:15) They wanted to see first hand what the Lord has done in their lives. Their relationship with our Lord was not based on knowledge only, but also on experiences. So, their actions followed their knowledge immediately.

Once they had seen baby Jesus and the family, Luke told us “…they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child….glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:17, 20) They were the first witnesses of the birth of our Savior. They became the first witnesses because they were willing to see what the Lord was doing in their lives and because they took actions of faith.

But they did not stop right there. Seeing baby Jesus was not it. They went about and spread the news about this baby in the manger. The news was so amazing that they wanted to share with others. Their social status might have been lowly, their hearts were not. They realized that God was working in their midst as a blessing for all. Their hearts were filled with awe and thanksgiving. So, on their way back to their work, they glorified and praised God.

They had an encounter with Jesus, our Savior. They had witnessed the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation for His people. Though the world was still dark and cold, they walked away from the manger with hope and a good news of great joy to share. How about us?

Christmas has come and gone. Have we been able to meet Jesus, our Savior, on Christmas? If so, what are we taking away with us into the new year from this Christmas? The joy of the birth of Christ Jesus? The hope of the salvation through Him? The love of God as expressed in His coming? The greatest news of all times that salvation is available to all through our Lord Jesus? Or, constant praise and worship to God in the highest? All of the above, I hope.

Prayer Requests:
For those who are working hard in this dark and cold world and seeking light and warmth in life

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for this good news of great joy! Thank You for the privilege of knowing our Lord Jesus as our personal Savior! Please help us to grow beyond a mere recipient of salvation into a faithful servant who shares this wonderful news of Your birth and salvation in a life style of praise and worship. In the precious name of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen!