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.”
Luke 2:10-11**
Fear falls upon you suddenly when you come face to face with the unexpected or unnatural. You don’t need it or want it, but that is never a consideration.
Shepherds stood minding their own business on a cold winter’s night when the darkness was broken with the glory of the LORD. It would have been a privilege to behold such a sight, had a warning be given, but to encounter the power of God when you are unprepared only produces terror. Beads of sweat formed on the sheep-keepers’ brows, and their knees knocked together as they fell down to the cold ground to hear the good news that the angel came to proclaim.
“Don’t be afraid, a Savior is born,” they were told. It was the only message that could have truly dealt with this fear.
Sin has been controlling mankind with fear ever since Adam tried to hide himself from the LORD in the Garden of Eden. Only a Savior capable of conquering sin could be strong enough to bring peace on earth.
Savior – a majestic title for such a tiny child…
Yet He Himself formed the wood
That now makes up His cradle,
And designed the tree
That will one day be His cross.
– Cindy Maddox
*the first title given to Christ at His birth
**see also Acts 5:31, 13:23; 2 Timothy 1:10; Isaiah 45:21; plus 32 other references
December 2
