The Birth Announcement To The Shepherds-Part 2

Many scholars believe that the "cloths" were actually burial cloths used for wrapping the body of the deceased in preparation for burial. The uniqueness of the sign would have been the burial cloths, not the manger. In those days there were no Inns as we know them today. Many homes were built over caves where the animals stayed under the house at night and during bad weather. The house was called a Kataluma, which would have contained one or two guest rooms. Apparently, the guest rooms were occupied, so the owner allowed Mary and Joseph to stay in the cave under the house. The angel goes on to say, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those with whom he is pleased (or finds favor)."
Even as one who loves and walks with Christ, our tendency is to always see ourselves through the avenue of what we do or don't do. "I'm a doctor, I'm a teacher, I'm a banker." None of these define who we are, they simply tell how we earn a living. When asked if God is please with you, most have been trained to immediately think of what we have done lately. "I've had lustful thoughts, I lied to my spouse, I haven't had a quiet time this week, etc." We think of our behavior, but that was not the question. Is God pleased with you....your person, the heart and essence of who you are from God's point of view?
From the moment we receive Christ into our lives, this is our identify before God. He never defines us by our behavior, but sees us just as we were the day we were completely cleansed by His blood. God always sees you as a holy, blameless, forgiven saint, regardless of how awful your behavior my be or have been. Does behavior matter? You bet it does! Sin is serious business to God. He hates sin our independence, disobedience, and rotten behavior, but He is never displeased with who we are. It's true that we were sinners before we met Christ and we were also saved by grace, but as a new creation we no longer can be defined as a sinner even though we still sin. Why? Because that is what you do, not who you are. Who you are is a saint that sometimes messes up. To see yourself as a saint is more humble because it has nothing to do with anything you achieved or earned. You didn't make yourself a saint or even come up with the title. God did!
Why is understanding what the angel said to the shepherds so critical? If you do not believe that God is pleased with you as a person, you will spend the rest of your life trying to make yourself pleasing to Him. There are not enough verses you can memorize, Bible studies you can attend, or sins that you can avoid for you to ever feel deserving of God's favor. You will become disillusioned, cynical, and dissatisfied with everything about your life and will never understand or experience peace. How can a believer be at peace if he or she can't ever do enough to achieve God's favor. It's impossible!
The Glory of God returned to earth as the shepherds stood in awe. During His time on earth, the Glory resided in Jesus Christ. When he ascended into heaven the Glory of God left with Him, but the Glory later returned at Pentecost (Acts 2). Where does the Glory of God now dwell? In you(Col. 1:27). If the glory of God is now present in the life of the believer, how can we ever again think of ourselves as worthless? (From: When the Good News Get Even Better)