Blessings - peace - the face of God shining on us - this wonderful blessing expresses the true nature of God. Throughout all of human history, God has consistently blessed and guided us, and He continues to do so. It is important for us to remember this, for people have a tendency to think of God as frightening and wrathful. Nothing could be farther from the truth. People misunderstand God's message and misuse it in many ways.

Galatians shows us God's true intentions: to adopt us as children, to empower us with the spirit, to grant us an inheritance of glory, and to set us free in peace and joy. Nothing wrathful or violent here! We are invited upward into a new and much deeper relationship with God, and that relationship can begin here on earth in this life.

The angels appeared first to shepherds to announce the news of the saviour's birth. It is very significant that they appeared to them first, for shepherds were thought to be shady and disreputable people. They were folks who lived on the margins of society. But they, and many like them, were the ones who received the person and message of Jesus with openness and joy. No one is unimportant in God's eyes, and no one is excluded from God's love or God's plan.