Make Haste to Worship God
“So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.” Luke 2:16-17
What do we do with haste? For children, waking up on Christmas morning is one of those things. It is great to see what presents are under the tree.
There is plenty of reason to make haste on Christmas morning. There are a lot of things about which we do not make haste. Ordinarily we may be slow to wake up when the alarm goes off. We put off a chore we don’t like. The grass may grow higher than it should before we cut it. Our winter cleaning may not actually happen until the spring. The Christmas decorations may stay up long after they should.
When the shepherds heard the announcement of the angel, they made haste to go to where the baby was born. The angel announced that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem. He would be their Savior and bring peace on the earth. The angel’s words indicated that the shepherds were to go to the place where the child lay. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” So the shepherds did not hesitate. They went immediately to see the child that the Lord had made known to them.
We sometimes hesitate in our service to God. We find reading the Bible a chore. Prayer gets squeezed out of our schedule. We know we ought to serve others but don’t find the time. The note card never gets written. There are many good intentions that never are realized.
What if we were to be like the shepherds in our service to God? What if we made haste to worship, pray, study, read, serve, and worship. What if we delighted to do God’s will. What if God were our first desire.
On this Christmas morning we remember the great love of God in sending his Son to be born among us. We long to know and experience Christ anew and afresh. In the manger lies our Savior, wrapped in swaddling cloths. This tiny child will change the world and make all the difference for our lives. Praise and thanks be to God. As the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” Let us make haste to worship him.