God is calling us to believe our Savior has truly come

Around the family table

Luke 2:8-14, NLT.
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Often, when we are surprised by the Sovereign God, we, just like those shepherds of old, shrink back in fear.
Even when God’s messengers speak to us good news to receive and share with the world around us, we need to be reassured. We seem to be weak people who don’t trust the gifts that God has given us.
It’s no wonder then that we are so regularly powerless to change the world around us.
I believe that God Almighty is calling us, just as God called those shepherds of old, to believe—truly believe —that our Savior has come. That’s the news that brings joy to all people.
We do not need to keep searching compulsively for a new diet, a new car, a new relationship to give us happiness. True joy, life-giving joy, has come in Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem.
He has come among us, as one of us, bringing grace and truth. Amazingly, we can recognize him in the common things of life, not in the elite positions or the exotic locales.
That is what is truly extraordinary about our Savior. He lives among those who work in the fields as well as those who rule in palaces. He cares for babies born into poverty as well as for those raised in wealth.
Yet, because he is among us, we can experience him and relate to him. We can get to know his love for us and for our world.
It’s through experiencing Jesus’ love that we begin to trust God. Through Jesus, God’s greatest gift to us, we begin to trust the other gifts that God has given us—gifts like courage, perseverance and hope.
By believing in Jesus, we, as weak as we are, can become bold and persistent ambassadors for God. We can change the world around us for God’s good.
We can become life “enrich-ers,” not life drainers. We can become stimulators of joy, not spreaders of despair.
Like those angels of old, those who believe—truly believe—that the Savior has come, can sing, “Glory to God in heaven and peace on earth” as they march forth in boldness to meet the challenges of this earthly life.
May you discover the joy of a life like that during this wonder-filled season of Christmas!