Shepherd's eye view....

Shepherds' eye view....

My father raised sheep before and after I was born...he had this idea of buying older bred ewes, which he did to start a flock of sheep, culling out the really old ones as he could...the older ewes were cheaper, but great mothers and usually had twins. So he would increase his flock quickly, which he did...he told about how he was able to raise these sheep on the rented ground where we lived, while he was working an outside job. So the sheep supplied wool to sell, as well a meat to eat, money to save for this young married family...he eventually sold the flock, turning to cattle which were mingled with his father's Hereford herd in central California...

One of my husband's earliest pictures was with his lamb, "dynamite". He is proudly standing, smiling with his lamb...

Our first date was after my future husband had been working with sheep all week during Christmas break..."tagging" them, which means shearing the rump wool, smelly, dirty work...and his car told the "tale"... 

Our first four legged livestock were sheep as well, who always managed to find any weak spot in the fences, especially while my husband happened to be away...I quickly dubbed them "biblical lessons"...

We continued to own sheep for 4H projects for several years, different kinds of sheep with different personalities, uses...some, more for meat and others, more for their fine wool...merino...my children bottle fed "bummer" lambs until they almost became household pets or pests, as the case may be....we loved watching the lambs gamboling around the pasture, running as a groups first one way and then another, exercising their little wooly legs, pairing  up with their patient moms to suckle, tails wiggling before they were off again, finally snuggling into a grass for a nap... So pure white or black against the spring green field...

I was thinking of all these sheep-raising events in our lives as the pastor spoke of seeing Christmas from a different perspective...from the angels and people who saw Christmas first hand...

The shepherds  were the lowly of lowlies on the cultural chain...they worked outside, watching and caring for  smelly sheep...but, in God's grand scheme of life, they were the first to hear of Christ's birth...they were the ones who sought Him out first...they were the ones to worship Him first, they were the ones chosen  to tell others first...the dirty, smelly, grimy, amazed shepherds...whom the Angels pronounced the blessed arrival of a Messiah...a Shepherd for all mankind...a Savior...thank YOU...

Luke 2:8-20 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 

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

When the angels had left them and gone into 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.” 

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 

HOW PEOPLE MADE A LIVING IN THE TIME OF JESUS, American Bible Society. 

http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/s/shepherd.html

http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qDQAYzDf0WM=

https://reflectionsintheword.org/2011/12/23/tidings-to-shepherds-broadcasts-to-outcasts/

The Responsibilities Of A Good Shepherd, Sandy Simpson

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