”When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’” (v. 15)

Consider the example of the Christmas shepherds:

They experience the remarkable. They receive, by grace, the revelation of the Messiah’s birth. They see heaven’s army and hear heaven’s song. And it all points them to the One who has been born for them—and for all people.

How do they respond?

By immediately running to Him. By urgently determining to dive deeper into the truth they’d received. By dropping everything to draw nearer to Christ.

Their priorities change.

Now consider our own example:

We have seen and heard all of this, too, as their testimonies (and a host of others) has revealed Jesus to us. We have the truth of God’s Word. We have the record of history. We have the cloud of witnesses that affirms for us: lives and hearts are changed by this Messiah.

And how do we respond?

With occasional church-going, so long as it fits our schedules. With infrequent Bible reading, because it’s hard to fit that in. We simply embrace a slightly more religious life without making a big deal about it.

Our priorities…probably still look like the world’s priorities.

Let’s change that this year. Let’s run to Christ, and leave some stuff behind. Let’s follow the earliest example from the earliest hearers.

— Tyler