THOUGHT FOR THE WEEKEND

WALKING through Belfast recently, I happened upon something that I have seen on numerous occasions previously, but its existence had slipped my mind.

“Sheep on the Road” is an interesting sculpture outside the Waterfront Hall.

It is an impressive sight. Sculpted in 1991 by the acclaimed Northern Irish sculptor Deborah Brown, it consists of six life-size bronze sheep and a shepherd.

Seeing this work of art reminded me of other sheep and other shepherds — the sheep and the shepherds outside Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born.

What happened to them is now very well-known, even by those who don’t spend much time reading the Bible ... they were simply looking after their sheep at night.

It was something they did all the time and the night in question was scheduled to be much the same as any other evening.

However, to their great surprise, they were visited by an angel of the Lord and then by “a multitude of the heavenly host” (Luke 2:13).

‘What will it be like on the day when we stand before Jesus Christ in all His Glory? The prospect is terrifying’

The message which the angels brought to the shepherds was good news: “For unto you are born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

However, at least to begin with, the whole experience was simply terrifying.

The Bible tells us that the shepherds were filled with fear in the presence of the heavenly messengers.

This got me thinking.

If the shepherds were full of fear in the presence of angels, what will it be like on the day when we stand before Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in all His glory? The prospect is simply terrifying.

Yet, the good news of the Christian Gospel is that, if we have turned from our sin and trusted in Jesus Christ by faith, all will be well for us on that day.

As J C Ryle, formerly Bishop of Liverpool, thought about standing before Jesus in all His glory, he said he was filled with fear.

But then he remembered that, if we are Christians, we do not need to fear, for “the One who is sitting on the throne is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour, our Elder Brother and our Friend.”