I Have Decided to Seek Him

I Have Decided to Seek Him

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. – Luke 2: 15-16

Several shepherds were minding their own sheep and their own business when they were suddenly visited by the Angel of the Lord. You can understand why the first words out of the Angel’s mouth were: “Fear not.” Most of us would have had a heart attack! Anyway, the Angel proceeded to announce to these lowly and unsuspecting shepherds that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. Did you ever pay attention to the fact that the Angel simply told the shepherds about Jesus and how to identify Jesus? He never ordered them to go see Jesus. Still, these shepherds left their flock and sought Jesus.

They did so because . . .

1). They had a right to see Him. These men were not members of the upper class. Nor, were they members of some royal clan. Yet, they sought Jesus because they had a right to see Him and be in His presence. The Angels said: “Unto you is born…” 2). They had a desire to seek Him. There was no need for any further encouragement or enticement. Based on what they heard alone, the shepherds said to themselves: “We have got to go see Him for ourselves.” The external announcement of the angel triggered an internal desire to know more about Jesus. 3). They had the determination to find Him. It must have been difficult to find Jesus given the scant information they were given. They knew He was a baby, in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. This is really not much to go on. Nevertheless, they found Him because they were determined to do so.

The next time we celebrate during the Christmas season, let us not fail to seek and see Jesus Christ in it. Even though we may have talked with angels, we have never experienced Christmas until we have personally spent time with Him.

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