Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Luke 2:16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
BUT MARY TREASURED UP ALL THESE THINGS, PONDERING THEM IN HER HEART (3)
Of course, Mary did not know exactly when the shepherds had started out, but perhaps there were signs of their haste, like perspiration on their brows, or their huffing and puffing, or just their excitement as they arrived.
And while it might have cut her to the heart that she had no nice nursery, no cute baby clothes, and no real bed for her first baby, as it turned out, that was the very thing that the shepherds were looking for: a baby swaddled in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. How had the angel known about those things? Had he been there all along, but invisible? How many times have God's messengers been witnesses of our trouble or lowliness while we were thinking, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen"?
We don't know how long it took the shepherds to find Him, but they surely were not going to give up their search, for they knew that He was there! The Lord had revealed it to them.
Mothers may know what a special blessing their infant is, but enjoy hearing from others what a cute baby they have. But these shepherds were not so excited by His little fingernails, as they were by the saying of the angel concerning Him. And although we cannot see His fingernails, we too hear the saying of the angel about this child.
And as we turn the calendar page tonight, remembering all that the Lord has brought us through, and looking ahead to all that may yet lie on our path, the angel's message assures us that this child holds our times in His hands, and we are safe!
