Music to His Ears

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”

– Luke 2:13-14

Have you already had your fill of the holidays? 

The decorations went up in many stores before Halloween, and those familiar songs have been playing on the radio for weeks. So, with Christmas just a few days away, maybe now’s a good time to consider what — or better yet who — we’ll celebrate on December 25.

It all starts with the radical notion that God loves us so much that he gave his only Son (Jesus) to personally pay for the mess we’ve all made of our lives as well as a once-unspoiled creation. And with this immense debt now cleared from our account, every believer, through their faith in Christ, is free to serve as his hands and feet throughout the community … and even the world. 

The Bible tells us that about 2,000 years ago, God sent angels — his special messengers — to an obscure corner of the Roman Empire to announce this Good News. And their every contact with humanity proved to change history. It's in the opening chapter of Luke’s gospel that we read about the angel Gabriel’s proclamation to a peasant girl (Mary) that she would soon give birth to the Savior of mankind. An angel also confirmed to Joseph (Mary's fiancé) that the Holy Spirit was the source of her pregnancy. Likewise, angels announced the Good News of Jesus' birth to a group of lowly shepherds, who had seen a brilliant guiding star as it hovered over a manger in Bethlehem. When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another:

“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Today, those same angelic messages remind us that God's plans for the world continue to unfold as scheduled through the lives of Christ-followers like you and me. That’s truly Good News that demands a worthy response — and moreover, one that’s music to His ears. As we read in Psalm 148:2: 

“Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.”