And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
Luke 2:9-11,13-14
and they were greatly afraid.
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid,
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which will be to all people.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
When the Son of Man comes in His glory,
Matthew 25:31
and all the holy angels with Him,
then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
Glory to God! Glory—having high regard or honor won by noteworthy achievements. On the dark, quiet Judean hillside, the shepherds sat around the fire while their flocks slept. All was calm until the angel of the Lord burst upon the scene. The Bible says that he stood before them and that God’s glory filled the air, and they were terrified. Wouldn’t you have been as well?
I’ve often thought about the darkness of that night. I am privileged to live in a rural area where there are few streetlights. Car lights and house lights, as well as the church signboard, light the evening’s surrounding darkness. So, complete darkness does not exist. Can you imagine the inky blackness of that first-century, Judean night sky? Imagine staring into the flickering flames of the campfire, while utter darkness lay just beyond the circle of light. Suddenly, the entire landscape is illuminated with more light than you have ever seen in your lifetime! God’s glory!
How could it be anything less than spectacular? God’s only begotten Son had just been born! And yet in a quiet stable, Jesus came to this earth alone.
But when He comes to this earth the second time to rule and reign, He will not come alone. Notice that ALL the holy angels are with Him! How many is that? We have no idea, but it will certainly be glorious! Can we even imagine it?
God’s glory—how does it affect your life? How can God’s glory make this Christmas any different? Perhaps this verse can help:
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass
2 Cor. 3:18 (emphasis added)
the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
We see His glory—His magnificence—and we strive to reflect that glory in all we do. Matthew Henry puts it this way:
“We behold Christ, as in the glass of his word; and as the reflection from a mirror causes the face to shine, the faces of Christians shine also.”
As we shop, we shine. We wrap the presents and shine, even though it is Christmas Eve, and we’d like to go to bed. We think about God and all His glorious attributes and allow them to polish our attitudes, so that wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we reflect His glory in our hands, our eyes, and from our transformed hearts! How glorious! What a privilege is ours! It’s a tall order, but then, isn’t our precious Savior worth the effort? Do you think that perhaps shining His glory to a dark world would make a great birthday present for the King?
Beyond Common Sense 