Dear Child of God,

If you were a shepherd in the time when I was born, you would never have expected anyone to be astonished at anything you could ever say or do. You would have been "just" a lowly and despised shepherd. Most shepherds (like those who celebrated my birth) were quite young and most often ignored. Like all good shepherds, they smelled like sheep — they were not the kind of folks you invite into your house for a long conversation or a dinner party. Shepherds, in general, were not considered intellectually astute. Most people felt that shepherds would have little to say that was important.

Then came My birth. Look at what God made of these shepherds. They were the first to share the good news of My birth. They were the first "missionaries" sent to tell the story of God coming down to live with people. These shepherds were told this good news by angels sent from the glory of heaven.

People were astonished. They were astonished that God would use shepherds. They were astonished at what the shepherds told them about the angels. They were astonished at the story the shepherds told about Who I was and where I was born.

Look at what the Father made of these shepherds. They were the first to know and to proclaim the astonishing good news of God coming to the world as a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a feed trough — the glory of the newborn King of the Jews, the Messiah of Israel, and the Savior of the world.

And what about you? Are you astonishing?

If you listen closely to the passages below, you will see that I have done something just as astonishing with you as I did with the shepherds. Because of Me, you are now "holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection." Just like the shepherds, you have been given the opportunity to be astonishing!