Angels and Shepherds and Christmas

Luke 2:8-20

INTRODUCTION

A favorite Christmas picture is the scene of the shepherds sitting among their sheep on the hills at night and watching in amazement as a choir of angels appears to them in the distance, lighting up the sky as they sing “Glory to God in the highest” to the amazed shepherds.

I would like this afternoon to talk about that scene and to try to make it come off the Christmas card and into our hearts and lives, so that we can understand why what happened that night is such an important part of the gospel story.

Luke 2:8-20:

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

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 among men with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child: and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

I. It is remarkable that the people who were privileged to receive this stunning announcement were lowly shepherds.

A. Shepherds were not highly regarded in ancient Palestine.

It is true that King David had been a shepherd, And a favorite psalm said, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” And Jesus himself called himself “the Good Shepherd.”

But in reality, shepherds were among the least respected of the people. They had a hard job. They lived on the fringes of society. Their work kept them away from the temple rituals that were so important in the worship of the time.

We don’t read of any shepherds among Jesus’s disciples.

But I think that God chose these people to receive this glorious announcement exactly because they were humble people.

B. Let’s imagine the scene.

For some reason, on this night the sheep were spending the night in the field. They have not been brought into the sheepfold, as would have been usual.

The shepherds are watching them—guarding them from wolves and thieves, and watching to make sure none of them wander away.

Shepherding must have been a dull job. What would you do all night, except try to keep awake?

But this night was different; suddenly an angel appeared!

 I have never seen an angel—and actually I don’t want to; every time we read in scripture of an angel appearing to anyone, that person is filled with fear. Sometimes we read that they fall down like dead men. And the angel always says, “Fear not.”

In this story the angel gives the message about the Holy Child, and suddenly the sky is full of angels.

It seems to the shepherds that the stars all come trooping down as a great army of angels (that is what an “angelic host” means), and they say:

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.”

(I know that isn’t the way you remember it. You remember the words: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, Peace, goodwill to men.” But all the scholars agree that the original wording was, “Peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased.” The peace that was brought to earth on that first Christmas day was for God’s people—for those who responded to God’s love and welcomed the Savior.)

C. As soon as the angels departed, the excited shepherds headed to Bethlehem to see this thing that had been made known to them, and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby, and they told Mary and Joseph what they had been seen and told.

I suppose that Mary and Joseph were as surprised as could be to hear of what had happened.

Mary and Joseph knew this baby was special, and the message the shepherds told them from the angel gave them plenty to think about.

We read at the end of the story that “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

II. Now let’s consider what the story means.

A. After the angel told the shepherds, “Fear not,” he told them that his message was “Good news of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Of all the good news that humankind has ever received, the most joyful news that ever came to earth was the announcement of the birth of the Christ.

I think of the good news that came to me in a letter from Charlotte agreeing to marry me.

I think of the good news that came when World War 2 ended.

But no good news was ever so good—or so joyful—as the good news that the Savior was born into our world.

And this was good news—not only for a lucky few—but for “all people.”

B. “For to you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord.”

This baby was announced to be a “Savior.”

The chapter began with these words: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.”

Did you know that the emperor, Caesar Augustus, was known throughout the empire as “Savior” and “Son of God”?

So there are two “saviors” in this story—one who was famous and powerful, and one who nobody had heard of yet.

One point of the story is to show us that a confrontation was about to take place between the one the world called “savior” and “lord” (that is, Caesar Augustus) and the true “Savior” and “Lord” (who was Jesus).

“Savior” to the Jews was a word full of meaning.

A “savior” was one who saved people from the dangers of life—he was a preserver and protector.

A savior could be a heroic man. But more often in the Bible the savior was God himself.

But here the angel applies that title to Jesus.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who heals our souls from the sickness of sin.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who redeems us from the guilt and punishment of sin.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who frees us from the power of sin and evil in our lives.

“Savior” tells us that Jesus is the one who will bring us through all our troubles and trials of this life and welcome us to our home in glory.

The angel said, “…a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

The name “Christ” means that Jesus was the promised Messiah—the long awaited King.

“Lord” tells us that Jesus is the Almighty God of the Universe—the God of history, and the God who deserves our obedience and trust.

C. And then the angel gave the shepherds a sign by which they could identify the child who was Savior and Lord.

The angel said, “And this will be a sign for you: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

When they got to Bethlehem they would look around and finally find a child that fit that description.

There would have been only one child in Bethlehem who was lying in a feeding trough for animals, and that would be Jesus.

D. The shepherds made the announcement throughout the neighborhood of the announcement of the angels and returned glorifying and praising God.

And that’s all we know of the shepherds. We don’t know whether any of them met Jesus again 30 years later when he began his ministry. We never read in the gospels that Jesus made any visits to his birthplace of Bethlehem, although I don’t see why he wouldn’t have.

If we take all we know of those three years of Jesus’s ministry, we really know only what happened on a few of the days of his public life.

CONCLUSION:

It is remarkable that when God sent his Son into the world, he chose for his parents insignificant people.

Jesus was born “on the road”—to homeless parents—not even in a proper house.

Only a few people in the world would have noticed.

God sent the big announcement to humble, lowly shepherds and let them get the word out.

Probably the first time anyone important heard about Jesus was when the wise men came to Jerusalem and told about the star.

And that was later—maybe as much as two years later—because we know that they arrived two years after they had seen the star, and by that time the holy family was living in a house.

And that event seems to have been quickly forgotten. We read no more about Bethlehem or the wise men in the gospels or in histories that were written of that time.

So what is God telling us?

He is telling us, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.” (Those are the words of Jesus in Luke 6:20.)

He is telling us that God humbled himself to come to the lowliest of the low, and that tells us that Jesus is the Savior of everyone—not just the rich or powerful or privileged.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us put everything else in the background and think about the Christ who came into the world to be our Savior and Lord.

Let us remember that the baby is just the beginning. The important part comes at the end when our Savior ascends to the Cross and gives his life for the sins of the world.

And when he is laid in the tomb…and when he is raised from the grave…and is taken into heaven.

This is the great God whom we worship.

There is so much to distract us at Christmastime.

The world has made a spectacle of it.

The merchants have made it a thing to make money off of.

Sometimes amidst the family celebrations, Jesus is crowded out.

But Jesus belongs in the center of the celebration.

Let us bow down before our Great Savior and Lord and give him our life and our all.

Let us learn to trust him and to obey him and to follow him to the end.

“Arise, Shine; for Your Light Has Come”

Isaiah 60:1-3

INTRODUCTION

Some of you grew up on farms without electricity, as Charlotte did, can remember how dark the nights were when there was no moon. If it was a clear night, the stars gave a little light but not much. If it was cloudy, then it was really dark.

Some of us have visited caves. When the guide had led your group into the biggest cavern of the cave, he warned you that he was going to turn off the lights for just a minute so that you could experience the darkness. And when that total darkness came—so that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face—then you could even feel the darkness. A child would cry, and then the guide would turn the lights back on and everyone would heave a sign of relief.

Darkness—as a metaphor—represents evil, danger, and ignorance.

In ancient times, darkness meant danger from thieves or bandits.

If there was no moon people didn’t go out at night unless they had to, and, if they had to go out, they went in a group, and they carried torches.

I. Listen to this prophecy from the prophet Isaiah—written 500 years before Christ:

(Isaiah 60:1-3)

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples:

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

And nations shall come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

We like to think that knowing God means that we will always be happy people.

Do you remember those Sunday school songs—

“I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart,”

and “Joy, joy, my heart is full of joy,

and “I’m in-right, out-right, up-right, down-right happy all the time”?

But it isn’t true, and we shouldn’t have taught our children those songs, because they would soon learn, if they didn’t already know, that having Jesus in our hearts doesn’t mean we’re going to be happy all the time.

We repeat the verse—

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…”

Some modern translations read that verse:

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil; for you are with me…”

Discouragement can seem like the deepest darkness—or as Isaiah calls it: “thick darkness.”

Some of us have been there.

This world is a world of darkness for many, many of its people.

It is a world of sin and evil and trouble and disease and suffering, and death.

The worst kind of darkness is the darkness of a life without God.

II. But Isaiah also spoke of the light.

The words I read began with this:

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”

Light in scripture represents love, joy, peace, hope, and salvation.

Do you remember the story of how Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple when he was just a few days old, and an old man named Simeon took the child into his arms and said:

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,

according to thy word;

for mine eyes have seen thy salvation

which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to thy people Israel.”

(Luke 2:29-32)

I think old Simeon was thinking of those verses in Isaiah in which God had promised so long ago a Savior who would be a light for all people in the world.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”

That is why we light candles at Christmas time.

In the old days, candles were all the light there was in a church at night.

Sometimes each worshiper would bring a candle and insert them in candleholders in candleholders at the ends of the pews. And that would be the light in the church.

And light in scripture is a metaphor for goodness and joy and wisdom and salvation and glory.

CONCLUSION

Sometimes people call this world a “Vale of Tears” because there is so much sorrow and sadness.

For many, many lives there are far more tears than there is laughter.

And all of us have experienced the darkness.

Even some times when we walk with God, trusting with all our heart—we walk in the darkness.

But there is never no light at all for a believer, because darkness can never overcome the light that is Jesus. Even a little bit of light will help dispel the darkness.

The light that is Jesus is a living hope—the hope of eternal life in glory.

In Colossians 1:13 we read,

”He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness

and  transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Darkness may be all around, and we may sometimes feel ourselves to be in darkness, but there is always light if we belong to God.

We read, “In him—that is, in Christ—was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).

Light can overcome darkness, but darkness cannot overcome light.

Even the light of a candle can overcome the darkness.

But no amount of darkness can overcome the light of the candle.

When we were in Korea we were told never to strike a match in the open at night, because even that tiny flame could be seen for miles away and let the enemy know where we were.

We may feel that we are in the darkness, but if we have Jesus, we have light.

We know that glory lies ahead.

And in Ephesians 5:8 we read: ”Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”

Take heart. Be of good cheer.

You are children of light. Live in hope…rejoice in the Lord.

Think about what God has in store for all of us who belong to him.

We read in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible a description of the Holy City that will be our Eternal Home with Jesus:

“There shall no more be anything accursed,

but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it,

and his servants shall worship him;

they shall see his face,

and his name shall be on their foreheads.

“And night shall be no more;

they need no light of lamp or sun,

for the Lord God will be their light,

and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

Think about this. Look forward to it. Live in expectation…and desire…and hope.

And whenever you see a Christmas candle, think about Jesus, the light of the world, and the light of your life.

When Our Deeds Follow Us

Revelation 14:13

INTRODUCTION

“What we do in life echoes throughout eternity.”

A couple of weeks ago we were studying the Book of Proverbs in a Bible class at church.

A verse from Proverbs that struck me was in 10:7: “The memory of the righteous is a blessing.”

The first person on my list of people whose memory is a blessing is my Granny Sommerville.

We loved to go to Granny’s house in Kansas City. We lived in another town about 50 miles away, so we didn’t get there often.

(Grandpa Sommerville, had died when I was too little to remember him.)

Granny lived in a three-story house. During the Depression the families of one of an uncle and an aunt lived on the first two floors.

Granny lived on the third floor. It was exciting to kneel on the sofa and look out of the dormer windows and see the rooftops below.

Granny had a whole box of toys—a wind-up train, blocks, games…I don’t remember what else.

I collected stamps. Granny corresponded with missionaries she supported. So sometime during our visit she would call me to her desk and go through her foreign correspondence and give me stamps from her missionary friends in the Belgian Congo, China, The Dominican Republic, and other countries around the world.

Before we’d sit down to lunch at Granny’s house, she’d take us to her pantry and we could each pick out a jar of jam from her collection to use during the meal. She had jams from fruits we had never heard of, like boysenberry. Granny always made us feel loved.

Granny loved Jesus too. She was an good example for us of a godly woman.

Her example helped make the faith of Christ attractive to us.

There are many other people in my past whose memory blesses me—even though most of them been with Jesus for years and years.

I. Each of our faith comes to us through other people.

A. In 2 Timothy 1:4-5 Paul wrote to his young friend this way: “As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.”

Our knowledge of God has come from believers in our past—our parents, teachers, pastors, friends, or maybe even the authors of books that helped us find and know God.

I don’t think any of us would be followers of Jesus if it just depended on knowing theology.

It’s not enough to know the “way of salvation.”

We have to see faith lived.

And because we saw the faith lived out by people like my granny, we have come to faith.

B, Think of the long chain of believers who brought the faith to you and me from the time of Jesus—for 2000 years people have been living for God and telling others, and worshiping and praying and loving and serving.

And they were blessed by the faith of believers before them, and so on, all the way back to the time of Christ.

We know the names of only a few of the people who brought the knowledge of Jesus down through the ages until it reached us.

Some people are proud that they are descendents of admired people of the past like George Washington or William Bradford or William Shakespeare.

But for each of us our important ancestors are the ones who carried the torch of the knowledge of God down through the ages.

II. Now I want to switch gears and talk about us.

A. Each of us has also influenced those who come after. Even if you’ve had no children, you’ve been an influence for God.

Some of you have been Sunday school teachers. Some of you have volunteered at hospitals.

Some of you have served your church in hidden ways.

Because you are a Christian believer you have stepped up and done things that needed to be done.

Some of you were teachers or nurses or salespeople or housekeepers.

Some of you have done your job as unto the Lord. He has been honored by your work. People have noticed.

Maybe you didn’t think it was a Christian witness, but people were watching.

They were forming their idea of what it means to be a Christian by watching you.

Probably there will be people in heaven because of you.

They may be people who you don’t know you influenced at an important time in their life.

Maybe they don’t even remember the time you drew them toward God by a kind action or a word of encouragement.

B. I want to read a verse from the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation. It’s in chapter 14, verse 13: “I heard a voice from heaven saying, “’Write this; Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them!’”

“For their deeds follow them”! Your deeds follow you—and will follow you.

John is writing to believers who were suffering for their faith. He tells them about some who have been faithful even unto death.

But even though these people are no longer on earth, their good deeds are still blessing people on earth.

The influence of a good person goes on for ever.

I read a quotation from a Scottish Theologian from long ago. He wrote: “The smallest work for God lasts forever, whether it abide in men’s memories or no” (Alexander MacLaren).

Even though no one remembers the good you do, its influence goes on and on—for all eternity.

Every good thing we do affects eternity.

Every good action we have ever done has eternal consequences.

I’m talking to you in this way because sometimes when we get old we wonder whether our lives have really made a difference.

I think your life has.

Out of all the dozens of people in Village Ridge, you are the few who have enough interest in your faith to show up today.

You are the people who have loved Jesus, and served God by serving others.

Maybe you’re a one talent Christian, but you have used your talent for God.

C. Jesus told a parable about the last judgment in which men and women came before him at his throne of judgment. Maybe they are afraid because they don’t know what to expect.

But Jesus—the judge—surprises them by saying: ”Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?”

And the king will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers or sisters, you did it to me.”

Think about the people in your past to whom you owe your knowledge of God. Do they know the part they played in your life?

Probably not. Some were teachers and pastors and parents and friends and co-workers and the authors of books you read—too many to remember. Many influenced you in ways you weren’t aware of—and here you are, a child of God, on the way to glory—because of their influence.

I believe that someday we’re going to meet all those people to whom we owe our spiritual welfare and we are going to be able to thank them.

And likewise people will meet us, to whom they owe so much, and they will be able to thank us. And won’t that be a happy time?

The Well-Dressed Christian

COLOSSIANS 3:12

INTRODUCTION

Americans give a lot of attention to their clothing.

On cold days Charlotte and I walk in Lindale Mall for exercise.

We notice that there are more clothing stores than any other kind of shop.

We often get catalogs in the mail full of pictures of attractive models wearing handsome clothing.

We wear clothes to cover our bodies—which generally aren’t especially beautiful.

We wear clothes to protect ourselves from the elements.

We wear clothes so we will look nice for the people who look at us. Attractive clothes can be a mark of respect for others who have to look at us.

Here is a verse from Colossians about clothes: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

You’ve noticed, Paul isn’t talking about literal clothing. He is using the idea of clothes as a metaphor for how we are to adorn ourselves in a spiritual sense as we live among our friends and neighbors.

I. Just as it is important to wear appropriate clothes out of respect for other people and for our own sense of confidence, so it is important for us to clothe ourselves with the virtues—or graces—appropriate to God’s chosen people—as Paul says, who are “holy and beloved.”

A. Putting on these graces, it isn’t like putting on garments that call attention to our good taste or make us look stylish.

It is more like putting on a uniform.

Policemen wear uniforms to mark them out from other people.

So do nurses, and letter-carriers, and soldiers, and firemen, and airline pilots.

The uniform keeps them on their toes. The one wearing the uniform strives to serve appropriately as a member of his or her profession.

The uniform gives us confidence that that person will serve us according to his or her expertise—whether it’s nursing, or putting out fires, or carrying the mail, or catching law-breakers, or piloting the airplane.

B. When we Christian believers wear the graces of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, we are constantly reminded of why God has put us into the world.

God has not put us into this world to gratify ourselves but to serve him by serving people he loves—and that is everyone.

He has put us here to spread his love and kindness around the world.

Many years ago an older friend told me this: “I used to think that I was put on earth to be happy and to make other people good. I have since learned that I am put on earth to be good and to make other people happy.”

That is what God expects of us. That is why he tells us to put on—to clothe ourselves—with these attractive virtues. I call them “graces” because they come from God.

II. These “graces” come from God. They are not natural.

A. I used to teach young children. I will tell you that compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness and patience do not come naturally.

They have to be learned. You know how hard it was to teach these virtues to your children.

You also know how hard it is for you to maintain those habits in your life.

Even when we know how we should behave, we often slip into the opposite habits—habits of selfishness, unkindness, pride, self-assertion, and impatience.

It’s a life-long project to change from the natural “me-first” attitude we are born with to the godly attitude of living to bring love and happiness into the world.

B. Notice that each of these graces has to do with helping others to be happier.

Each of these graces involves putting the interests of another person above our own.

Each of these graces makes us more useful to other people.

Each of these graces involves some kind of sacrifice.

Each of these graces requires the help of God.

C. Let’s look briefly at each of these graces and consider how we can—with God’s help—build them into our lives.

COMPASSION

Compassion doesn’t simply mean feeling sorry for someone. I can imagine that the priest and the Levite who were going down the Jericho road felt sorry for the man who had been beat up by the robbers. But the Samaritan not only felt sorry, but he stopped—at great danger and inconvenience to himself—and helped him.

Compassion is to feel the hurt in another person’s heart—and then to do something kind.

It could be a hug, a word of encouragement, a prayer, a gift—or  even just being a good listener.

KINDNESS

Kindness is more important than perfection.

In fact, you are not very holy if you are not very kind.

One of the rabbis said, “Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.”

Kindness is hard for some people because it is hard for them to put themselves in another’s place.

So kindness is a character trait that we should pray for and work hard to show in our lives.

LOWLINESS

Lowliness is an old-fashioned word for humility.

The ancient saints used to say that humility was the foundation for all the virtues. One of the saints said, “If you want to build a tall house of virtues, first plan for yourself a deep foundation of humility” (Thomas Hilton).

Humility is to realize that we are—each of us—sinners and fall short in many ways of what we should be.

Humility is to think about my faults instead of the other fellow’s.

Humility is to forget myself in my concern someone else.

Paul wrote in Philippians:

“Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in lowliness of mind count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).

MEEKNESS

“Meekness” is another word for “gentleness.” To the ancient pagan Greek mind humility and gentleness were shameful. One of their philosophers, Celsus, derided the Christ and because they worshiped as God, a man who lowered himself to wash the dirty feet of his disciples.

To be meek is to be gentle, courteous, considerate, tenderhearted.

Gentleness seems to the world to be weakness. But it takes a strong person to be always gentle.

A pine tree stood on a mountainside. One day a tiny seed fell out of a pinecone on that tree and fluttered to the ground. It fell into a crack in the rock and finally sprouted—a tiny, weak shoot. But the shoot grew into a plant, and the plant into a sapling, and the sapling broke the rock. In its gentleness was its strength.

In the Soviet Union all the power was with the government. And the government was intent on stamping out faith in God. All the powers of the political system united themselves to destroy the church. The government controlled the educational system and the children were taught atheism in the schools.

Most of the churches were destroyed or turned into warehouses or museums. A generation grew up without God.

But there were people who kept believing. They were the grandmas, the babushkas. The babushkas kept going to church. The babushkas kept the faith.

And eventually the political system crumbled and the power of the state collapsed, and the church remained.

The grandmothers had won. The grandmothers had kept the faith alive. And now the churches are growing stronger, and people are again worshiping in Russia.

Jesus was weak. When he was arrested, he did not resist. When he was abused he did not curse his enemies but trusted in God.

And the cross, the point of Christ’s greatest weakness was also the source of his greatest power.

From Christ’s meekness and gentleness and helplessness came the great victory—the victory over sin and death and the devil.

Jesus calls us to follow in his path, the path of meekness—and strength.

PATIENCE

The patience Paul is recommending here isn’t the patience of someone who is working a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle or the patience it takes to learn a new language or to refinish a dining room set.

It is the patience of a teacher with a student who can’t understand.

It is the patience of a mother with a disobedient child.

It is the patience of a wife with a husband who has annoying habits.

The word used for patience here also means forbearance and mercy.

It also means forgiveness. When we are patient with people we forgive them.

III. As you think about clothing yourself with compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, you are probably thinking—as I do—It’s impossible! I could never be this kind of person.

The only thing I can do is point you to Jesus, our Savior.

Jesus embodies all these qualities—compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience.

The more we learn of him…the more we walk in his company...the more we reflect on his life as recorded in the gospels …the more we will grow into his likeness.

Do you have a Bible? Get it out today and begin with Matthew…or Mark…or Luke…or John, and read about Jesus.

We won’t grow these graces so much by striving for them as by living with Jesus until his life begins to shine in ours.

I should warn you—

You won’t see the graces that adorn your life.

The more holy you become, the more you will be aware of how far short you fall of being all you should be for God. You will not feel yourself to be a godly person.

But others will see Christ in you.

CONCLUSION

A little girl was taken to visit a great cathedral. She was especially impressed by the beautiful stained glass windows in which were depicted various saints of God.

She asked her daddy, “Who are those people in the windows?”

“They are the saints,” her father replied.

“Oh, now I understand,” his daughter said. “Saints are people the light shines through!”

Does the light of Jesus shine through you?

The more you think about Jesus, the closer you live to him and let him live in you—the more like Jesus you will become.

Then you will be wearing Christ’s uniform—the clothing of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience.

People will see goodness in you.

People will see Jesus in you.

And you will be fulfilling your destiny as a child of God.