The bright pink tractor went speeding down the country road outside of Bethlehem. Gummy Bear and M&M could not steer it, stop it, or even make it slow down! Suddenly the bright pink tractor screeched to a stop beside a field. Gummy Bear looked at the field and saw something out there! He said, “Look M&M, out there in the field there are a bunch of things moving slowly, they look like white blobs! Maybe they are ghosts! Maybe they are ghosts of ancient gerbils! Maybe they will come over here and bite our fingernails off! Let’s get out of here!” Gummy Bear tried to start the bright pink tractor, but it would not move an inch! Gummy Bear jumped off the bright pink tractor to run away, but just then one of the white blobs said, “Baa!”
M&M said, “Wait a minute Gummy Bear, those are not ghosts, they are just a flock of sheep! And look, the shepherds are sitting around that campfire over there. Let’s go and see what they are talking about!” M&M and Gummy Bear walked very quietly on their tiptoes and got close to the campfire and the shepherds.
Just then one of the shepherds said, “I am so bored out here! Nothing ever happens! I wish I lived in the big city of Jerusalem. Then I could go to school at the temple and learn about God and everything else!”
One of the other shepherds said, “Yeah, I wish I was there too. It’s exciting over there in Jerusalem. They say that everyone is looking for a Savior that God promised to send to our people. But we will never learn about anything like that out here with these stupid sheep!”
Just then a tall shining man appeared out of nowhere right in front of the shepherds. Gummy Bear was so frightened that he tripped on his shoelaces, fell, and rolled into M&M and knocked him down too! The first shepherd said, “Look at that man! He must be eight feet tall and shining like the sun!” Another shepherd said, “This is no man, this must be an angel!”
Just at that instant, bright light surrounded the shepherds. It was so bright that they could not even open their eyes! They were shaking with terror! Gummy Bear said, “M&M what is this bright light? I cannot stand it!” M&M was laying flat on the ground and could not even lift his head when he answered, “I read about this in the Bible. The bright light is the glory of God!”
The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid! I have good news for you! Today in Bethlehem your Savior was born. He is Christ the Lord! This is how you will know Him; you will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a manger.”
Then an amazing thing happened! Instead of just one angel talking to the shepherds, there was suddenly a whole army of angels! They were all praising God! The shepherds, Gummy Bear and M&M all fell flat on the ground, it was too much to even look at! Suddenly the angels were all gone. The bright light of the glory of God was gone too! It was hard to see for a few minutes, but then the shepherds began jumping up and down because they were so excited! They said, “The angel told us about the Savior that was promised! We believe it! Let’s go and see the baby, and we will tell everyone we meet about this great thing that has happened!”
The shepherds ran down the road to Bethlehem. M&M and Gummy Bear were going to follow them on the bright pink tractor, but just as they were starting down the road, one of the sheep ran out into the road. M&M slammed on the brakes of the bright pink tractor so that they would not hit the sheep. Gummy Bear fell on top of the bright red button! Instantly the bright pink tractor began spinning in circles, smoke and steam surrounded them, grape juice and bread came out of the smokestack…
What Gummy Bear, M&M and you can learn from this story:
The story of the angels appearing to the shepherds is found in the Bible in Luke 2:8-20.
When the angel told the shepherds the good news about the baby Jesus being born in Bethlehem, they chose to believe and take immediate action. They did not wait to see if other angels would show up, and they did not ask other people for their opinions. They just believed and began running into Bethlehem to find Jesus!
The same is true for us! If you have been reading the stories on this website, you have read a lot about Jesus, but it does not do you any good unless you believe and take action!
In the Bible in John 1:12-13 it says:
But to all who believe Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
In the Bible in II Corinthians 6:1-2 it says:
Since we are God’s coworkers, we urge you not to let God’s kindness be wasted on you. God says, “At the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you.” Listen, now is God’s acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!
This is the time to get serious with God and accept the forgiveness offered through Jesus! Do not put it off! No one, except God, knows what will happen tomorrow!