8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
How interesting that the Lord chose to reveal His coming to this world to none other than shepherds! Shepherds were not the most revered of people. 1 Cor 1:26-31 tells us that the Lord uses those who are not considered wise. This is about Him, not about those who think they know what is going on. It is important to not seek to be seen as wise; but, rather we need to seek the Lord in everything we do. When we do this we make Christ our center as we should.
“The Glory of the Lord shone around them.” This has always amazed me. The fear of the Lord is so important for us to understand. We need to learn that our God is perfect. He is who we want to be. When we sin against Him, we really want to be a god, we just want to do it our way, not His. The Angels were around God all the time. The Glory of God shines on them because of this. This happened to Moses when he descended from the mountain after receiving the Ten Commandments from the Lord. Revelation 21:23 states that there will be no need for a Sun or Moon because the light of the Glory of God. How awesome and amazing is it that our God was born this way and yet in His true position He will radiate as the perfect being He is?!
“Glory to God in the Highest.” This is the first and most important thing the multitude from heaven states. “on Earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” In whom is God pleased? God is pleased with His son, Jesus Christ. He said as much after Christ was baptized. When we follow Him and strive to be more like Him, God is pleased with us. It sounds simple doesn’t it?! If only it was … but it really is.
