And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. – Luke 2:20
The point of creation and Christmas and the coming new creation is that God is glorious, and He desires to be seen as such by a joy-filled, peace-filled, hope-filled people that He has made and redeemed for Himself. The Scripture stories of Christmas are ripe with this: Good news of… Great joy. Peace on earth. Light shining in darkness. Salvation from sin. A forever kingdom. Everlasting life. A Savior. A Reigning King. A Son of the Most High. Christ the Lord. Immanuel. Glory to God in the highest. Christmas shines brightly with God’s ultimate purpose: that He be honored in us and we be happy in Him. While we can taste this in great measure now, we will feast on its fullness when King Jesus returns and everything that dishonors God and everything that makes us unhappy will be removed. For now, we do as the shepherds did upon experiencing the first coming of Jesus: They returned. The shepherds went back to their everyday lives to tend the flock and glorified God on their way because of Jesus. We too have been given an everyday platform to glorify God by trusting Him, thanking Him, obeying Him and loving Him as people watch our lives. So use what you have been given to make Him look great with your life. If it’s a blessing, use it for the glory of God. If it’s a burden, bear it for the glory of God. There is nothing too great to take on and nothing too great to let go of in showing our adoration, affection and allegiance for Him. Until Jesus returns, let us return to live our everyday lives knowing… God is with us. God is for us. God is to be glorified through us.
