Unlikely Angels

Luke 2:20

I love that shepherds play such a central role in the Christmas narrative. Shepherds were low class laborers. They were often looked down upon, except by the sheep in their care; yet shepherds were the first to hear the news of Jesus’ birth and pay a visit to the infant Savior. The connection between Jesus, the shepherds, and the angels is really quite beautiful because it points to the highest highs of Heaven, the lowest lows of earth, and everything else in between.

The word, angel, means messenger of God. We see in the early stages of the Gospels that angels brought messages to Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Elizabeth, and of course the shepherds. What I LOVE is we see that the very first humans that became messengers of God after Jesus’ birth are the shepherds! Imagine how people received the news of the Savior’s birth from a bunch of dirty, smelly, sheep herders.

That’s God’s way though, isn’t it? God showed up in an unlikely way to unlikely parents and first appeared to unlikely people. The shepherds could not contain themselves from what they witnessed and went back to work, but went back changed — they returned glorifying and praising God for all they experienced. They became God’s next-level messengers…they became unlikely angels.

You can be an unlikely angel, too. You can share the good news of Christmas and tell others what you’ve seen and heard. The Savior was born to us. Immanuel arrived. God IS with us and God is FOR us! Glorify God. Praise God. You will be an unlikely angel for someone when you deliver news like that!