For the past two weeks, Theology 101 has used actions of Mary, the mother of our Lord, as the basis for suggesting that the birth of Jesus is a good time for godward rejoicing (Luke 1:46–47) and inward pondering (Luke 2:19). This week we look back to the unnamed shepherds who showed up outside the inn to find the infant Jesus lying in a manger in the stall. The angel of the Lord had revealed to them in the fields the good news of great joy about the birth of a Savior in the city of David. The record states that the shepherds, upon seeing the infant Savior for themselves, “made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child” (Luke 2:17). Thus, some unnamed shepherds were among the earliest evangelists of God’s good news.
The example of the shepherds suggests that Christmas is a good time for outward testifying by sharing God’s good news about His Son and our Savior. Unlike those shepherds, we have not literally seen Jesus. Yet the truth of 1 Peter 1:8 can still be ours when it reads, “Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” Ours can be the joy of telling others of God’s love in that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
We commonly and properly think of testifying as a matter of words either spoken or written.
To be sure, the Christmas season affords an ideal time to explain by way of the witness of words the significance of Christ’s coming into the world, which the Bible puts simply: He came to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10).
This good news warrants telling again and again to people everywhere. A phone call or a timely tract enclosed in a Christmas card might also be ways of outward testifying at this most blessed season of the Christian calendar.
Christlike living
Our outward testifying during the Christmas season can be not only by the personal witness of our spoken or written word but also by our example in Christlike living during Christmas and New Year celebrations. Holiday behaviors and indulgences might negate our testimony if they are not consistently in line with what Christians should be doing.
Both by testimony and example, the holiday celebrations are an ideal time for outward testifying about the great salvation and new life available through Christ.
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