We are approaching one of the most wonderful periods of the whole year, the season in which we commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In our pulpits, our homes, over the air and every­where, this old story of the birth of the Savior of mankind will be repeated o'er and o'er both by word and song. However, sad as it might be, to many, Christmas time is only a time of merry-making, exchanging of gifts and a time of renewing old friendships. But to us, who are Christians, this time should mean something more, for it is the day especially set aside to honor the day when Christ, our Good Shepherd was born. At this time, let us focus our attention on the Babe of Bethlehem, who is our Good Shepherd. The meditation will be that wonderful Twenty-third Psalm.

Through many a troubled day of his interesting career, David, a shepherd boy in the lonely Judean hills, must have been accustomed to commune with the Most High amid the solitude and realize that, though he was a helpless creature, abroad in the great world-wilderness, he was neither forsaken nor forgotten. He, too, be­longed to a tender and guarded flock. Jehovah was his Shepherd. He must have carried this thought within his heart. In his poetic nature it was the seed of a song. He must often have felt within him "the fire of the coming flower." Again and again, it must have trembled on the verge of bursting. One day, we know not when, but it was a blessed day for the world, a special inspiration smote him and the seed burst into blossom. On that day he gave the world this perfect lyric which has sung itself into the hearts of a thousand generations and will sing on until its music "melts away and blends with the harmonies of heaven" — the twenty third Psalm.

In tending the sheep, the shepherd gets up early. Waking with the dawn, he takes his flock forth from the fold to graze the ground before the sun has risen and while the grass is damp with dew of the morning. This, I am told, is the most favorable feeding time of the day. The flock is fresh, its hunger is keen, the pastures nutritious and sweet. It is after the sheep have eaten to their fullness that they lie down. Here is a wonderful lesson to draw.

To make the ideal beginning of life, we must go with the Good Shepherd early, and spend the dewy morn with Him upon the meadows of His grace; for it is then that the spiritual appetite is keen, and the heart feeds hungrily upon the pastures of His Word, until it is nourished into deep content. The soul that is nourished and satisfied in God is safe. But how sad it is, as we look about us, that the world is so full of lean and famished spirits, men and women whose souls are fainting in them, who might now be vital with "vigor for righteousness and reserve power for trial," had they but responded to the call of the Shepherd, early in the morning.

How sad it is to witness the multitude of troubled lives that have slipped away from the Good Shepherd's care to be "driven" by the wolves of passion, to be torn by the thorns of remorse, to be trapped in the pathless sands of doubt and to drink from the dead sea of unbelief, through the misfortune of having missed the satisfaction of the morning meal upon the meadows.

May God help us honestly say that “the Lord is my Shepherd," and may we always be in close communion with Him. If He will be our shepherd, we as His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him, instead of making out our own paths and thus going astray from the fold. My, how easy it is for young people of today to be tempted into doing things which are not pleasing to God. “Satan, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Therefore, we must be sober and vigilant — always on the alert, in the center of His will in anything we do, in our thoughts and in our actions always seeking to glorify Him. "Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2). As a sheep cannot live long by itself, on the steep cliffs and rocky plateaus away from the green pastures and away from the fold, so it is with a Christian who goes away from the care of the Shepherd, and partakes from the plate of worldly lusts and passions. “Wherefore, come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

The Christian is taken out of the world yet he is sent back into it. "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world" (John 17:18). Christ, our Good Shepherd, came into the world as the Father's ambassador. He came into a world alienated from God, and He brought the "good tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10) that a way was opened through Himself back to the Fathers' heart and home. As Christians, we must now go forth as ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven into the enemy's territory to carry the message of salvation and reconciliation to those who are alienated from God.

Having experienced the joy of restoration to God through faith in Christ, we cannot rest satisfied until we have brought others into the same joy. Christ came into a world enveloped in densest darkness to be its light. Into that same world every Christian is sent to be a light. In the beauty of the Christian’s service, Christ would radiate the sweetness and strength of His own life and draw sinners unto Himself. But before we can accomplish anything for Him, we must be in close communion with our Shepherd, so that not only our words, but even our lives would constantly tell for Jesus.

Yes, as His sheep, we can live in the world, yet at the same time, be separated from the things of this world. He will lead us in the paths of righteousness and fill our cup with His blessings to overflowing if we only remain faithful to our trust.

Jesus, our Shepherd and Savior, is crowned and enthroned in tenderness, humility and self-sacrificing love. Although King of kings and the Lord of lords, He is as accessible, as simple, as lowly as a little child. He comes to us in lowly disguise, as the Babe of Bethlehem, the Homeless Wanderer and the Crucified of Calvary. But He is coming back in all His majesty and glory as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Only those who accept Him and follow Him as sheep that follow the shepherd will be with Him in His kingdom.

It is said that one of the Russian emperors used to disguise himself and go out among his subjects at night as a poor tramp. One night after having been turned from every door, at last he found refuge in a peasant's cottage. There, he lay all night upon a bed of straw, eating only of the crust the poor man shared with him. The next day he came back with his royal retinue round about him and called at that peasant's door. The poor man thought his doom had come, but what was to his amazement when his sovereign took him by the hand, thanked him for his kindness the night before and loaded him with rewards and honors.

Someday, our King is coming back in majesty and glory before which the sun and stars will cease to shine. Happy then for you and me, if He who sits upon the throne recognizes us as one of His sheep, and we acknowledge Him as our Shepherd. Then we will hear those blessed words from the lips of our Creator. “Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

So, this Christmas season, may we realize more than ever before, that the Babe of Bethlehem is our Glorious Shepherd, who is willing to lead us along as we journey the pathway of life. May we put our complete faith and trust in Him. As obedient sheep, may we be willing to follow where the Shepherd leads us.

(This article was taken from a magazine called, “The Light Bearer.” It was published in 1945 when Alex was twenty-three years old. He was listed as a traveling evangelist.)

Alex Leonovich

1945