Luke 2:20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life —
Christianity at its heart is incarnational. We are called as the Body of Christ, and as individual members of that body to carry and display the very life of Jesus. The eternal word is to become flesh again through the lives of Christians. That’s why the world needs more than good sermons. They need to see Jesus, not just hear about Him. The Shepherds went back from their encounter with Jesus glorifying and praising God because they didn’t just hear the message about Jesus from the angels, they saw Him for themselves. People need to not just hear, they need to encounter Him; to be touched by Him. When we lay down our lives in sacrificial love for people, they see Him in us. When we pray for the sick and they are healed, they touch Him. When we display the tangible character of Jesus being manifest through us, people see Him, and are touched by Him. Jesus needs to be incarnational, in our lives; not just to a broken world, but how about in our homes, to our spouses, and our children. The Shepherds went back to their normal routine of life, changed, praising and glorifying God because they heard and saw.