09 Dec The Least of These
This time of year, it is easy to think about those less fortunate and have fallen on hard times.
There is more focus on food pantries, Angel Trees, and shelters as the temperatures drop and the push for Christmas gifts hits full tilt, which is all good stuff! We definitely should keep these things in mind all year round.
But, I don’t want to talk about the Matthew 25 type of “least of these.” I’d like to talk about the Luke 2, “least of these.”
The Shepherds.
These guys are the lowly rabble in Biblical culture, yet God chose them, gave them a special Herald Dispatch announcement, if you will, to tell them that His Son was here. His promise was on track for fulfillment.
Why the Shepherd?
I think it’s because they would listen, for one. They weren’t so caught up in social status or even social etiquette, for that matter, that they’d miss the announcement or neglect going. Second, they’d understand and appreciate the calling of sacrifice, protection, correction for the good of the sheep, and love that Christ came to fulfill.
These guys spent all their time protecting a fragile creature that would not survive predators and is so timid they can only drink from a gentle stream. Yet, these ruffian Shepherds were among the first to see the Christ Child.
God notoriously seeks out the least of these…Israel, tax collectors, prostitutes, beggars, lepers…women…God sees beyond the surface and the status and beyond the cultural expectation and limitation.
He knows the value of a person who is humble in heart, and He chooses them to entrusts what He holds in such high esteem.
Is this you?
Are you humbled in heart?
Do you feel like a least of these–an outcast of the world?
Know that God gave the life of His one and only Son in exchange for you so He could spend eternity with you. You are highly valued.
John 3:16-18
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
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Susan E. Greenwood is a wife, a mother, and a mother-in-law :D. She has over 28 years experience in youth and children’s ministries. Susan loves to write blogs, articles, devotionals, and curriculum. She has blogged for bible.org, and authors Mary Demuth, Lynn Cowell and Ruth Schwenk. Susan writes regularly for skitguys.com. Her passion is to help people live their Life In Stride with the Word of God.
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