One of my favorite parts of Christmas is getting Christmas newsletters from friends and family. It’s less common now, but Christmas cards used to be a main way to share family news with people who lived all over the country and world. We used to get photos and a letter giving all of the news: how old kids were, who was getting married, what vacations the family went on, how jobs were going. Now everyone uses Facebook for that kind of stuff, but we used to spread news by intentionally sending out Christmas cards to people we loved, from old school friends to former co-workers to cousins. These weren’t glamorous people who we wanted to like us; they were people who already liked us and wanted to know how we were.

Angels went to Bethlehem to bring good news to the shepherds, who were not glamorous either. The shepherds were nowhere near the top of society; you wouldn’t guess they would be the first to know the Savior of the world was born. But God first told the good news to dirty, smelly shepherds, who were just watching their sheep like any other night. They didn’t have any power and prestige. But once they heard the message, they instantly went to go see Jesus. They wanted to listen. They wanted to hear the good news. The shepherds weren’t wealthy or special, but they were ready for Jesus. Their hearts were open.

Who in your life is ready to hear the good news of Jesus? Many people in your world no doubt have open hearts.

This is Luis Palau.