If there were country songs at the Birth of Christ, one would be, “Mommas, don’t let your babies grow up to be shepherds.” Shepherding was not a high quality occupation. The Old Testament image of the Lord (Psalm 23) and the picture Jesus took on for himself (John 10:11) was held true in poetry and prophecy. However, for the high-born of Israel at the time of Christ, the lowly shepherd was just that, low, rejected, and mistrusted.
Yet, the message of God’s plan for the ages was sent to “shepherds living out in the fields” (Luke 2:8). What does this mean? Our place in the world, however humble, is a place of vision. God is present. God speaks, yes, He sends choirs of Angelic Hosts to fill our minds and souls with “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).
It is not in monuments, pyramids, or the Seven Wonders of the World that we find the plan of God. It is in the sign of “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12) we see the purpose of Heaven’s King. It takes the ears and eyes of a humble shepherd (or any person with a humble heart) to find “a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).