By Jeff Scoggins

Even though it was more than 60 years ago and I was only six years old, I remember that night like it was yesterday. I had fallen into the sleep of an exhausted lad snuggled close by my father, who was still watching the fire and talking in hushed tones with the other shepherds. Their conversation about Messiah sent chills up my spine—good chills. They said the prophecies were to be fulfilled very soon. Little did we know!

Lying there wrapped in my father’s cloak with my head on his lap that night I was dreaming about what it would be like when Messiah came. You know how dreams are, when things happen around you you simply incorporate them into the dream. That’s what I did for the first few moments of a blinding flash of light. In my dream all of Israel was suddenly all glowing with light when Messiah came. But the light didn’t go away so I had to wake up.

As soon as I opened my eyes, though, I flung my hands over them and dove deeper into my father’s cloak just as he grabbed me and then fell backward. At any other time I would have laughed uproariously at such an undignified moment, but not that night. Through my fingers I saw my father and the other men cringing and shielding their eyes from the light until suddenly the most beautiful voice unlike any I have ever heard or ever hope to hear said, “Don’t be afraid.” Incredibly, that made sense. All my fear instantly dissolved. An angel stood before us. I have tried for years to describe him but words just aren’t adequate.

He actually waited for our eyes to adjust to his brightness then he said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people! Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Then all of a sudden a huge company of angels in the sky burst out into the most glorious song you can’t imagine! “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” They continued to sing as they faded away. We just stood there breathlessly watching until the angels looked like a huge star. That’s when my father shouted, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go see this thing that the angel told us about.” No one even thought to stay with the sheep and my father didn’t put me down, we just ran to Bethlehem.

As soon as we got into Bethlehem’s walls we saw a few people, even though it was the middle of the night, but when we asked them if they had seen the angels they looked at us like we were drunk. Some laughed. Most looked disgusted. We didn’t care, though. We knew what we had seen and heard.

We finally found an innkeeper who said, “A new baby in a manger? Somehow I have a feeling that’s in my stable.” He didn’t come with us, but he pointed us to the small cave near his inn that served as a stable. I expected the stable to be all glowing with light and warmth. After all, if one angel made such a dramatic appearance, how must Messiah enter? I was disappointed. There was almost no light in the stable and the only warmth came from the animals crowded inside.

I think my father and the others were disappointed too, but that changed as soon as we began to tell the baby’s parents about the angels. Then the place began to glow as their faces lit up! They believed our story.

Well, right there we all knelt down around the manger where baby Jesus lay sleeping and we worshiped him because he was God who had come to live with us for a while. The whole time I kept wondering, Where is everyone? Why were we the only people there? I still don’t have a good answer to that question.

Anyway, we didn’t have much but we gave Joseph and Mary the little food and money that we had. I wanted to give them a lamb, but I hadn’t brought one. But Mary said that was all right and that just wishing I could give it was enough.

As day broke we finally left the stable and we were in such high spirits that we told everyone we met about the baby. Again they thought we were crazy, and again we didn’t care. We were going to tell them anyway. When you’re that full of good news you can’t keep it to yourself even if you try. I even told the sheep when we got back. Fortunately they had all stayed put while we were gone.

That night changed my life. I lost track of baby Jesus after that. I found out later that he had gone to Egypt to escape Herod who was trying to kill him. I didn’t hear anything at all about him for 30 years when suddenly he appeared out of Nazareth healing people and preaching, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

I was even more entranced with him 30 years later than I had been that night in the stable. I followed him everywhere like one of his disciples. And he accepted me along with everyone else. He even sent me on missions for him kind of like one of his ambassadors.

I won’t go into the long, sad story of what happened between him and the religious leaders, but I will tell you that once Jesus rose from the dead, I went to that empty tomb and was reminded all over again of the wonder I felt in the cave at Bethlehem so long ago.

He really is Immanuel, God with Us, even more than I could have ever imagined. He is God with Us not only because he came here but because he lived here along side of us, showing us how to live. And because he showed us how to live here in our home we get to go live with him in his home very soon. I’m still awestruck, and here, 60 years later, I just can’t keep my mouth shut about him. And, frankly, I have no desire to.