【双语灵修】“何等喜乐” How Great Our Joy

“牧羊的人回去了，因所听见所看见的一切事，正如天使向他们所说的，就归荣耀与神，赞美他。” - 路 2:20

“何等喜乐”是一首传统的德国圣诞歌曲，它从伯利恒附近旷野里的牧羊人的视角讲述了耶稣降生的故事。

牧羊人与天使进行了一次独特的接触，天使在一束大光中显现，宣布了救主的降生。天使离开以后，牧羊人彼此说：“我们往伯利恒去，看看所成的事。”

在伯利恒，他们找到了躺在马槽里的婴孩耶稣。在传播了天使的信息和发生在他们身上的事情之后，牧羊人回到了他们的羊群中，“因所听见所看见的一切事…就归荣耀与神，赞美他”，这是他们在与耶稣的相遇之后做出的回应。

当我们遇到永活的主，我们是如何回应的呢？我们的心是否被巨大的喜悦所充满，以至于我们无法不归荣耀与神，无法不来赞美祂？

我们在圣诞节庆祝我们的救主和王的降生。我们知道，耶稣来，是要救我们脱离罪恶和死亡。我们的心是否像牧羊人遇到耶稣时那样充满了喜悦呢？

靠着神的大能，因着接受耶稣做我们的主和救主，我们的生命得以更新改变。当我们在基督里的信心不断增长时，愿我们继续像牧羊人在那个奇妙的夜晚一样充满喜乐！

祷告

主啊，在你降生之时，我们充满了喜悦！愿我们的心和生命洋溢着不止息的赞美！阿们。

路加福音 2:15-20

15众天使离开他们升天去了，牧羊的人彼此说：“我们往伯利恒去，看看所成的事，就是主所指示我们的。”
16他们急忙去了，就寻见马利亚和约瑟，又有那婴孩卧在马槽里。
17既然看见，就把天使论这孩子的话传开了。
18凡听见的，就诧异牧羊之人对他们所说的话。
19马利亚却把这一切的事存在心里，反覆思想。
20牧羊的人回去了，因所听见、所看见的一切事正如天使向他们所说的，就归荣耀于神，赞美他。

How Great Our Joy

"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." - Luke 2:20

"How Great Our Joy" is a traditional German carol that retells the story of Jesus’ birth from the perspective of the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem.

The shepherds had a unique encounter with angels, who appeared in a burst of light to announce the birth of the Savior. And when the angels left, the shepherds said to each other, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened."

In Bethlehem they found the baby Jesus, lying in a manger. And after spreading the word about the angels’ message and what had happened to them, the shepherds returned to their flocks, "glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. . . ." This was after one encounter with Jesus.

How do we respond when we encounter the living Lord? Are our hearts filled with so much joy that we cannot help glorifying and praising God?

We celebrate the birth of our Savior and King on Christmas. We know that Jesus came to rescue us from sin and death. Are our hearts filled with joy like that of the shepherds when they encountered Jesus?

By the power of God, our lives can be transformed by coming to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And as we grow in our faith in Christ, may we continue to be filled with joy like the shepherds on that amazing night.

Prayer

Lord, at your birth, we are filled with joy. May our hearts and lives overflow with unceasing praise! Amen.