Christmas Devotional: Not a Silent Night

Passage:

¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Luke 2, NIV

Ponder:

The night Jesus was born was not a silent night.

Not for Mary and Joseph who went to Bethlehem for paper works, weren’t expecting the baby to arrive that night, and couldn’t find any place to stay for the evening.

Not for the God turned baby crying human shouts as He was placed on a box where animals eat. (Yes, that’s what a manger means)

And certainly not for the only witnesses of that night, the Shepherds who received a surprising message from an angel: the Promised Saviour is here!

I think that’s how our days and nights should be knowing that the Saviour has visited our broken homes, just like the shepherds, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭.

Verses 17-18 show that after seeing the first Christmas, the time that Jesus was finally here on earth, the Shepherds cannot keep quiet.

Instead, they became instant story-tellers of the good news that brings great joy: Jesus Christ was born.

Now my question:

This Christmas season, will you allow the days and nights to go by without speaking about the great wonders you’ve seen and heard God do?

I hope you will choose not a silent night, but a night filled with stories about Jesus.

Practice:

Read and reflect on the gospels, then relay the story to a friend before Christmas!

Prayer:

Dear God, I understand that worship is “thanks” that cannot be silenced. I am thankful for you coming here on Earth to save us, and so I will not be quiet about it. In Jesus’ Name.