The Invitation
By Elizabeth Cole
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night...So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:8, 16
It’s a night like no other…but they don’t know it yet. Ragamuffin shepherds sit in a field with their sheep. Can’t guess how long they’ve been living there…I wonder if the layers of dirt are getting deep, the smell of the sheep and of manly work are getting potent. And there they sit in the ordinariness of their lives.By Elizabeth Cole
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night...So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:8, 16
What’s the word for “even beyond one’s wildest imaginings”? That’s the word to describe what happens next. Darkness broken by glorious light. Muffled night sounds broken by heaven’s harmonies. A revelation, a chorus, an invitation. Off they rush, immediately, to go see this Messiah-child, this babe lying in a manger.
Have you ever envisioned yourself as one of them? Think of the honor of receiving that kind of birth announcement. They couldn’t have run fast enough, “Hurry up…here, take my hand, watch out for that rock…where should we start?” Think of the joy of finding the right manger. The race abruptly stops; they stand still at the sight. The Savior of the world is swaddled and lies right before their searching eyes.
All I can think of at that moment is how much I would’ve wanted to shower first. I’m getting ready to enter the presence of God Himself…and I stink. I wonder if I might have paused at the entrance, suddenly panicked by my state.
Rushing right in, the shepherds had it right. Our God is a God who invites us to “come just as you are.” No requirement to take care of our “baggage” and our filth before we approach Him; no obligation to freshen up our act before we seek Him. He knows who we are, where we’ve been, and how far from clean we find ourselves. And He still says, “Come.” What He wants from us is a heart that seeks His cleansing forgiveness. A heart that commits to following and loving Him above all else. Out of incomprehensible love, He washes us as white as snow, every time we humbly come as we are and ask.
Did we blow it again? He says, “Come.”
Am I embarrassed of that habit I can’t seem to break? He says, “Come.”
Are you waiting until you look a little better before receiving Christ’s gift of forgiveness? He says, “Come.”
Just as you are.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What is preventing you from enjoying the Lord Jesus and His lavish love for you today? Will you give that obstacle to Him?
2. Scripture says that we can do nothing to earn God’s love and salvation; He gives it freely. How does that fact impact your interaction with Him today?
FURTHER READING:
Isaiah 64:6; Psalm 51:7; Romans 3:23-24, 5:8; I John 1:9
Elizabeth is a wife, mother to three teen-aged daughters, and Director of Women’s Ministries at Oakwood Church.
© HomeWord. Used by permission.
