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The Shepherds: Curious And Inquisitive
Brian Mashburn
December 11, 2016
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Wanting To Know For Yourself
If you want to experience God, you can. He welcomes you to Himself. He invites you, even. The Christmas story, in fact, communicates to humanity that He has done most of travelling in order to make it happen, coming all the way from Heaven to Earth!
But just because He has made the trip does not mean you will experience Him.
Just like a girl can be oblivious to the gestures of interest from a boy, you can miss the advances of God towards you. You must establish in yourself a certain posture.
Do you have a posture towards Christ that allows you to receive him, and to receive the Kingdom that continues to invade Earth from Heaven?
Last week, we looked at Mary the mother of Jesus, and how she embodied an "open and receptive" posture towards the news of Jesus, even though it was unbelievable. You, too, need to be open and receptive if you are going to experience the Kingdom of God as God intends you to.
But it doesn't stop there. You must then follow it up with a "curious and inquisitive" posture. When Moses saw the burning bush, he went over to it to examine this strange sight. When Elijah heard a voice, he explored until he figured out where it was coming from. And in the Christmas story, when the shepherds in the field saw a vision of angels proclaiming something, they went into town to examine what they heard.
The result? For each of them, they experienced God.
Do you experience God? If not, it is likely because you are not curious and inquisitive enough to run down the clues that come your way as God continues to pursue you.