“Gabriel, it’s time for you to go and announce My Son’s birth.”
“Yes, Lord. Where do you want me to go, the palace, the temple, where?”
“No, I want you to go to a group of shepherds in a field outside of Bethlehem.”
The night was dark except for a strange star that hung over the small village of Bethlehem. The shepherds sat around a small fire laughing and talking as the long night stretched before them. All of a sudden the sky ripped open and there before them was a huge angel in bright shining light. The very glory of God shown all around them. The men fell on their faces terrified by the sight.
“Do not fear! I have come to bring you news of great joy for all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! You will know him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly blinding light and sound erupted as angelic beings, the very armies of heaven, filled the night sky. They were all joyfully praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
One moment the shepherds were paralyzed by the display and in another the joy was so overwhelming they wanted to jump and skip like a young lamb. How could this be happening to them? They were mere shepherds with nothing to offer, and yet God had sent His angels to declare the birth of the Messiah to them. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, the angels were gone. The night sky was silent and dark once again.
The shepherds looked at each other, and one said, “Did that really just happen?” Then they all started talking at once saying let’s go into the village and find this baby lying in a manger.
The stable was quiet and dim as the shepherds entered. The young mother before them looked tired but so peaceful as she held her swaddled child. The father stood watchful behind her as the rag tag group of shepherds came to see and then worship the newborn baby. The shepherds excitedly shared the amazing angelic visitation they had received proclaiming this child’s birth. The Messiah, He was the Messiah they had waited for their whole lives, and so many generations before them. And now they stood here in His presence, a tiny baby.
The shepherds reluctantly left the small stable, but the news inside them was too hard to contain. They must go and tell everyone they could see that the Savior of the world had come. Nothing would be the same again. They would never be the same again. So they went along telling everyone they encountered about the tiny child, lying in a manger, who would one day save them all.
Luke 2:8-20 NIV
Debbie's Perspective 
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