The 7th Day of Christmas!

Luke 2:8-20
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.” This is not merely a large heavenly choir. The angels that assemble to announce peace and joy to the shepherds make up the army of heaven. This “host” is God’s military force that wages war against the devil and carries out the will of God. A force that goes toe to toe with all the demons of hell on a regular basis is announcing peace and joy to mankind from heaven. 

Peace is announced because the King has been born. Whether the world will have Him or not, and it most certainly will not, He reigns and will bring peace and joy. He will have unconditional supremacy over all things. Yet it is not His glory or majesty that we are to seek. The shepherds are not told to go looking for this newborn king in large palaces or amidst the wealthy and powerful. They are to seek Him in a manger.

It is His humility, not His glory, that is the mark of this King. The shepherd found Him in a wooden box. We seek Him ultimately on a wooden cross. Hanging there, crowned with thorns, Jesus Christ exercises His full authority as King to atone for the sins of the world and set all its inhabitants right with God. 

This makes our joy certain. The shepherds seek the king where they are told, in His humble abode, and they leave filled with joy because God’s promise has finally come true. The Savior is born. We can seek the King where He promises to be found in humility, in the pages of the Holy Scriptures. There we will read all that He has done for us, what He will do for us,  and all that He wills us to do. We come away from the Scriptures overflowing with joy, because every word therein is true. Every syllable has been established and cannot be broken. 
​
Jesus is born to be your King, to reconcile you to God, to give you unending life. In Him there is peace and joy, so wear them on your sleeve.   ​