Joy To Your World - Children's Advent DevotionalSample

We celebrate Christmas in December, but Jesus was probably born in the spring. The reason we know it was the spring is because the shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at night. There were large flocks of sheep in the fields near Bethlehem. The little town was located on an important road that led to the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Holy City was named Zion because that is where King David built the large temple. Many sheep and lambs were brought to Jerusalem to be used for their sacrificial worship.

Passover was an important time at the temple in Jerusalem. Thousands of pilgrims would come to Jerusalem. They would need to buy a sheep or a lamb to bring to the altar. So, there were lots of shepherds in the fields watching the flocks on the night the “angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Luke 2:9). That verse also tells us that those shepherds were “filled with great fear.” Why were these big, strong, adult men afraid of what they were seeing?

The only way to imagine this Christmas moment is to picture it from a first-century point of view. We are used to seeing all kinds of light after dark. We can see a city from miles away at night because thousands of lights are shining. We have seen planes, helicopters, fireworks, neon signs, and large lights and screens at the ballpark. These grown men had never seen any lights after dark except for the stars, the moon, and the light from small oil lamps or a fire. When the “glory of the Lord” appeared and the sky was ablaze with light, these men were terrified!

But this was a moment the shepherds would remember for the rest of their lives. The shepherds were doing their normal jobs. They were watching the sheep graze, looking out for hungry wolves, and watching to make sure the sheep didn’t wander away. Then, in the middle of the night, the Lord opened the heavens. This allowed these men to glimpse the light of his glory. Sometimes ordinary days become something more.

The Bible says, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” When God made the world, he made Mondays too. Everyone is looking forward to the holiday. But today matters because this is “a day the Lord has made.”

The shepherds were just watching their flocks when the night skies opened and they were given a chance to glimpse the glory of God. What if God has a special moment planned for your ordinary day?