Shepherds in the Dark

My childhood was immersed in country living. We lived out in the middle of nowhere and at night it was pitch black without a single streetlight anywhere. It was a great way to grow up.

I wasn’t scared of the dark, but I was never that eager to walk around at night without a decent flashlight. There were simply too many prowling critters out there and I didn’t want to stumble upon one…or trip and fall over something unseen.

I’ve thought about those shepherds at the time of Christ’s birth. They had no flashlights or streetlights. Out in the field, they may have had lanterns of some sort, but probably nothing that could shine past a few yards…yet they faithfully watched over their flocks in the dark of night.

Now imagine going from such rural darkness to an immediate brightness full of God’s glory! These shepherds had never seen light so brilliant. It was probably terrifying to them, since they were told to not be afraid.

The darkness of this world has been forever penetrated by the light of the Lord. Darkness will never achieve ultimate victory, and Satan will never extinguish God’s torch. That torch was lit in a lowly manger, and God allowed some faithful shepherds to experience a taste of His eternal illumination.

Stay faithful to the Lord, Christian! No matter how dark this world gets you have the light of the world watching over you and abiding in you. Like those shepherds, we’ve been given a taste of His brilliant light, but one day we will see just how bright He really shines in the fullness of His glory!