Go Show it on the Mountain!
“You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” —Angel (to the shepherds)
Have you ever noticed there is no actual invitation from the angel to the shepherds to go and see Jesus? It’s like the angel just assumed they would go. It was less of an invitation to go and find Jesus and more of simply giving directions as to where He’d be! The angel just said, “The Savior is in Bethlehem and you’ll know Him because He’ll be the only one lying in the manger!”
The shepherds didn’t have to go. And they would need to choose to go. But why could the angel assume they would go? Well, the answer may be super simple. I mean, after what they were about to witness?
After the convo with the one angel, God further pulled back the veil on the heavens and the shepherds saw a “company” of them. The Greek text says, literally, “a number so large the container was full.” When I think of container, I think Tupperware. But the container that night was a bit larger. In fact, it was the entire night sky. It was packed with these very loud fully-armed spiritual warlords. Just when the shepherds were getting over the terror of having to deal with only one of them, “suddenly” there’s a sky full of them? You can imagine how impressive that must have been for a group of guys whose nights were typically just full of a “ba-aaa” here and a “ba-aaa” there.
What else could even begin to compare with that cosmic display? What other choice could compare with going to see the One the angels were singing about? An hour earlier, the shepherds’ lives weren’t really going anywhere. Shepherding was considered a lowly vocation in that culture, one filled by unbathed, under-cultured, underdressed, undereducated people. Because of their low reputation, shepherds were not even permitted to testify in a court of law. It’s rather ironic that God was trusting them to witness the greatest event in human history!
But when you think about it, God sent His Son into a world full of shepherds. Everyone, including you and me, is rather lowly. But God didn’t kick us to the curb either. God never had an attitude like, “Hey, you sinful humans, you made your bed, now go lie in it!” “You did the crime, so you do the time!” Instead, when we had nothing to offer God, and no way we could get to God, God humbled himself and came down to us. He stooped down to our level.
It would be like the White House calling and saying that President Trump wants to meet your family for lunch and you get all excited and say, “Where does the President want to meet us?” And his Chief of Staff says, “Del Taco down the street from where you live!”
Right now, you’re probably thinking, “I don’t think the President would do that.” And I’d say, “I don’t either, but you know what? Jesus would.” Jesus would meet you at Del Taco. I say that because the God who created the entire Universe stooped down to become like us. To live in our world. And not to just become a human, but to become a baby human, and a baby who was, by the way, born in a back-alley barn?
When you think about it, it would be easier to imagine those same angels blaring their trumpets and then the Heavens open up and the Son of God descends in some amazing jewel-covered outfit. Then He takes His rightful place on some ridiculously cool throne, sitting there in some equally crazy huge and beautiful palace. That would make more sense, right? After all, He is a King!
But that’s not what God did. He didn’t do what He deserved to do because, if you and I had seen that, we’d have immediately been self-conscious, thinking we’re not sure we belong in such an amazing place. We’d probably feel out of place, like “Woe is me!” (Think Isaiah 6.) Most of us have probably never even been in a palace, but we’ve all been to a petting zoo, which is kind of where Jesus was born.
And babies don’t intimidate anybody. Even not-so-cute babies are somehow really cute. Every time we see a baby, we all immediately say, “Awhhh,” and then go up to the parents and lay it on thick!
And barns don’t intimidate us either, so if God is willing to be born in a barn as a baby to connect with you and make you feel comfortable, then I’m just sayin’! Jesus would meet your family at Del Taco for lunch. I don’t know what He’d order, but He’d certainly show up!
So, it wasn’t the angel’s approach to say, “Hey, maybe if you have some time later on this evening. You know, if you have nothing else going on or nothing else better to do, you should make the trip.” The angel knew that when these shepherds, who had such little joy in their lives, were told that the One who was the source of all happiness and all joy had moved into their neighborhood, just a field or two away? The angel knew they’d go. And he knew that when they saw Jesus, that they would love Jesus.
And it’s that way with sharing Jesus with others. We think, “Oh, they wouldn’t be interested.” See, you’re assuming something that isn’t even true. Why wouldn’t they be interested? Why wouldn’t they want what Jesus has to give? What else are they going to do that’s better than that? Follow a culture that has been completely engineered to destroy them? Without Jesus, their lives aren’t going anywhere. Everyone needs to know that.
Business gurus Ken Blanchard and Pete Drucker were talking one day, and Blanchard asked his friend why he had become a Christian. Drucker said, “I couldn’t find a better deal!” Isn’t that the truth! I don’t know the specifics of your story, but I do know this. We all came to Jesus for the same basic reason. The old life wasn’t working.
So, we have every reason to be confident as we represent Jesus. He will sell Himself to your friends. All they really need is the chance to see Him, to see what He’s really like. And that’s the whole point of our spiritual formation. When our friends see us, they need to see Jesus. We study the Bible to see what He’s like, so that, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can become more like Jesus. We can’t just claim to be Christians. We can’t just talk about who Jesus is. Talk isn’t always cheap, but it sure tends to be that way. What we say can be helpful, but what we show makes it powerful. And we show people Jesus by the way we treat them.
Jesus said, “I didn’t come into the world to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47)
That’s the Jesus whom the people around you need to see, the Jesus who doesn’t want to judge them. He will eventually judge them, if that’s the way they want to play it. But that’s a last resort for a Savior who still wants to save them.
So, when we get cranky and judge others, our friends don’t see Jesus. When we gossip to others about someone, they won’t see Jesus, because He would never do that. Jesus didn’t come to criticize all the things He didn’t like about us. Jesus came to save us. So, let’s look around and encourage the people we see. Love them without conditions. Treat them like they’re really important to us. And when we do that, guess who they’ll see in us? Jesus.
Like the angel to the shepherds, it’s not always an invitation we extend to others. It may just be giving them directions, by how we live our lives.
Christian artist Zach Williams sings it this way:
Oh, I have days I lose the fight
Try my best but just don't get it right
Where I talk a talk that I don't walk
And miss the moments right before my eyes
Somebody with a hurt that I could have helped
Somebody with a hand that I could have held
When I just can't see past myself
Lord, help me be
A little more like mercy, a little more like grace
A little more like kindness, goodness, love, and faith
A little more like patience, a little more like peace
A little more like Jesus, a little less like me
The truth is, we don’t need to be a recruiter as much as we need to be a reflector. A reflector of Jesus to the people in our worlds who would actually love Him, if they could just see Him.