BY DAWN REED
At work. That is where it started. On a regular, boring, nothing-ever-happens-around-here night. Suddenly, the sky exploded with light, and they were face down, surrounded by glory.
It was the very first Christmas. Luke 2:8-20 reports the exciting and terrifying event in detail. The shepherds – considered outcasts of society – received an unexpected revelation that night at work.
The angel of the LORD brought good news: the Savior of the world had been born, and He was for all people! After the proclamation, there were exact directions. The birth was in the town of David (Bethlehem), and the baby would be found lying in a manger. (That eliminated searching everywhere else.) It was a lot to take in. How surprised and frightened they must have been. Nothing like that had ever happened before.
The good news led to a decision. The shepherds had a choice to make. Their response to the angel’s words? “Let’s go.”
Their decision led to an unexpected journey. Suddenly, they were on the road to find Jesus, then to share Jesus. Luke 2:17 tells us, “When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
After finding Jesus, the shepherds may have stayed shepherds, but they also became evangelists, missionaries and even more. They spread the word to all who would listen.
Psalm 105:1 tells us, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on His Name, make known among the nations what He has done.” Where does it say to make known what He has done? The nations. I’m not saying everybody should go to Africa. (If you feel called to go to Africa, then you GO.) But you may be called to go somewhere else.
It struck me recently when I read “Make known among the nations…” that the United States is a nation. We may live in one of the lostest nations in the world. We need missionaries here in the U.S. In my state. In yours. In every county. In every town. Like the shepherds, God wants us to find Jesus, then share Jesus.
At the beginning of 2025, I hoped to take three foreign mission trips. I didn’t get to go on any of those, but I did get to help Samaritan’s Purse with local flood relief. I went to the faraway lands of Shelbiana, Blackberry and McCarr in Kentucky, and to Williamson, West Virginia. (They were an hour away.) I did get to support missionaries from our church who went to Africa, both financially and with prayer. I was able to help locally in other ways.
Your journey may not be out of town. We are all on a mission. Every single day. We come in contact with lost people everywhere we go. Even at church. God can use us to be a light, to show love, to point people to His Son.
Many years ago, Henry Blackaby wrote in Experiencing God, “You can’t stay where you are and go with God.” When we follow God, as the shepherds did, it will take us places we never dreamed.