Some people have wrapped up their gifts and wrapped up their plans. They are ready for Christmas. Others are still thinking about what needs to be done. Most are probably somewhere in the middle. It’s about two weeks until the big day. What is on your mind as you consider those words?

Our Christmas season is significantly different from that night when the skies lit up with a host of angels. Shepherds today are scheduled to clock in, clock out, and finish their personal Christmas plans on their personal time. Today’s shepherds may be off on Christmas Day, or they may be scheduled to work a shift on the twenty-fifth.

Even today, shepherds work in the fields while others are home sleeping. God chose the shepherds of the day to be the first to hear the “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10). The shepherds were the first to see the newborn king wrapped in swaddling clothes. The shepherds were also the first to announce the birth of Christ to others. 

Shepherds were considered to be the “least” important in first-century culture. Who are the shepherds today? Jesus chose them to be first that night as they were watching their flocks just outside of Bethlehem. From the very beginning, Jesus taught us to think differently about people than the world thinks of them.

If Jesus were born today, a group of cab drivers, night shift workers, or truck drivers parked in a rest stop might have experienced the angelic host. Jesus chose the shepherds for a specific reason. He blessed the humble, who wouldn’t easily assume they deserved a Savior. All of us should be able to list reasons why we are grateful for God’s miraculous gift.

Jesus was born to lay his life down “for his friends.” Everyone can be a friend in return. Jesus told Peter, “Do you love me? . . . Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Peter betrayed Jesus three times yet Jesus laid down his life for his friend. All Jesus asked in return was that we follow the examples of those early disciples and feed his sheep.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. We are God’s shepherds called to shepherd others. They deserve to know Jesus is their treasure too.