This post is “Christmas – Day 20”, if you haven’t already read Day 1, please click here.

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Christmas – Day 20

Luke 2:16-20

They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed. Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them. As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

The Thought

They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed. Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

The shepherds were obedient, but I’m sure they couldn’t help themselves. Now, unexpected things make us want to tell others, especially when they are good things! Here, the lives of these shepherds were changed forever. The scriptures had literally come alive to them. I am sure they were stopped by others on their way back home or back to the fields and asked why they were so joyful and what was making them praise God as they made their way home.

After the shepherds’ visit we hear that Mary was pensive, pondering things in her heart. We have this same phrase at the end of the chapter, but we will look at it later in the study.

The gospels that tell this story come alive to us too as we read, and think about the events reported. It is good to spend time on most of the Bible verses imagining the situation, and seeing the characters in your mind’s eye.

Action

Who would you tell if something totally out of the ordinary happened to you today? Would you be like the shepherds spreading the good news, or like Mary who “always thought about them”? For her, the birth of her son was the confirmation of all that the angel had told her. She had much to think about.

Think on the truth of all this as you go through your day today.