Luke 2:8-20
The stories in the Bible of David defending his sheep against wild animals seemed cool. It becomes real when a shepherd knocks on your door with an inch long thorn stuck in his heal. He was camped on a hillside for the night, with thorny branches surrounding the sheep and goats. All of a sudden, a hyena jumped over the branches. While defending his animals, he lost his sandal and stepped on a thorn. He walked a couple kilometers to our house so that we could dig it out. The life of a shepherd didn’t sound so cool now. It sounded hard.
Shepherds here in Kenya live a hard life. They camp out in nature’s elements with what they can carry, usually just a stick (or staff), a pot and some cups for making tea over a fire, and some tarps and animals skins for sleeping. They walk all day long, leading the animals to water and grass, as the two are rarely found together in the same place. Flies are everywhere, since they are attracted to the animals – you have never seen so many flies in one place before. The shepherds haven’t bathed in weeks, since there is nowhere to bathe.
Yet these shepherds are not so different from the ones written about in the Christmas story. Those shepherds too, were camped on a hillside with their animals. God chose them to be the first to know about Jesus. God truly sent His son for everyone – the rich and the poor, the movie stars and the shepherds, and everyone in between.
The shepherds then went out and told everyone else. Now, we get to return the favor and tell this new group of shepherds what happened oh so long ago. Please pray for all of the Unreached People Groups who are shepherds, including the Gabra, who we work with.
by Jason & Joanne Borrowman, serving in Kenya under AIM, from Dalmeny, Saskatchewan.
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