12/16/10 Luke 2:15 Come and Worship

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

(The Shepherds, William Hold)

Thoughts: When God does something in our lives, we should not just take it in, but respond.  The angels had given the shepherds a call to worship- "You will find the baby..."  So they looked for the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.  When the supernatural intersects with our lives, we are called to find Him- and worship Him.  Advent and Christmas are about this intersection- He has come- and we are called to worship. So many of the Christian songs are calls to worship- "with the angels let us sing- alleluia to our King"; "O Come all ye faithful...O come let us adore Him!"  "Come and worship, come and worship- worship Christ the newborn King!"  God calls to us to leave our sheep (our work), our fires (our comfort), our caves (our homes/family/friends), and go and give Him homage for our Savior has come.

Prayer:  God, give me ears and strength to head your call.  You are worthy of my worship. 

John Calvin abridged: The Lord made the shepherds witnesses to the coming of His Son, and they were obedient.  They were not expressly commanded to come to Bethlehem, but they were aware of God's plan so they hurried to see Christ.  So, if we know God has come- should not delay or make up excuse to not come to Him.  It is worth noting that the shepherds encouraged each other.  It is not enough that we are each attentive to our own duty, So they did not neglect the treasure given to them by the Lord (through the angel).  So we too should also seek to follow wherever God calls.