Verse of the Day for December 22

The shepherds were working the night shift. Nothing about their evening was meant to change history. Then the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

The angel's first words are Fear not. Then the news: unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour. Two small phrases in there change everything. Unto you. This day.

Unto you means the shepherds, men whose work kept them on the edges of town and away from the temple courts. This day means not someday. A beginning had happened while they were minding sheep.

Every Christmas is a reminder that God begins again with something tiny. Not an army or a palace, but a newborn in a manger. The greatest fresh start in history weighed a few kilograms.

If you need to start over, after a failure, a divorce, a lost year, you do not have to wait for January. The angel said this day. Begin with something small: a phone call, an apology, a prayer at the cooker before the family wakes.

Fresh starts in God's story usually begin small.

The good tidings were for night shift workers first.