THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

God knows how to reach us. He used different ways—languages—to announce the birth of His Son, Jesus. To the simple-minded shepherds, He used a language of spectacular revelation—as described by the Gospel of Luke, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. To those complex-minded Magi, God used a language of mysterious riddle—as described by the Gospel Matthew, they saw a star in the east.

God knew if He had given the star to the shepherds and sent an angel to the Magi, they would not have understood it. It took the appearance of an angel to move the shepherds to the Child Jesus. And, it took the appearance of a star to make the Magi go and explore the meaning behind this astronomical phenomenon. God knows how to reach us—and speak to us.

The other day I had a meal with a young man. Despite the fact that he is so much younger than I, he is already spiritually discerned. While talking and eating, he suddenly stopped to tell me what God had spoken to him—it was something for me, he said. So, he told me the answer to what I was internally struggling on that day. He began by just saying, “God wants you to know . . . . “ Amen! Amen!

When God reaches us, He usually has something to say to us. We know it’s He who speaks, not only because the words He says is true or indicative of what we are experiencing. We also know it is He who speaks to us because of the way He says it—unexpectedly. You see, this young came to me because his parents had concern over his development; simply put he came to me for help. Little did he or I know that I, too, would someday need his help! God used him to be a language that I could understand. Unexpectedly!

Pastor Paul