Good News from Unlikely Sources

The engineers and skilled construction workers were pondering the gaping hole in the water line. The main valve had been closed and most of the small eastern Ohio town was without much needed water. Due to the overall condition of the pipe, several days of work would be required to repair the damage. It was remarkable that the leak was located at a place where another valve would have enabled the engineers to inconvenience only a small neighborhood. But that valve had never been installed. In their collective wisdom the engineers and skilled workers could only shake their heads in disbelief.

Watching from the sidelines was a poor, elderly gentleman, the kind of fellow who is easily disregarded. He had no formal education nor accumulated wealth. His gnarled hands spoke of years of manual labor and arthritic pain. His leathery face spoke of extensive time in the sun. His stooped shoulders told of years of back-breaking work. He had obviously seen better days and could have but little to contribute to any conversation, especially among the elite.

Tentatively he approached the white-helmeted foreman. Quietly he spoke. “Sir, if you pack that section of the pipe with dry ice, it will freeze the line in such a way that you can install a secondary valve and open the main line.” Because of the words of a poor man, excessive costs were averted, a major project was quickly completed, and a grateful community barely experienced a temporary inconvenience.

Many times great news comes from unlikely places and unlikely people. God sent angelic messengers to poor, uneducated shepherds. The elitists of their day would have looked down on these humble men. But God looked down on them in a different way. He looked down on them with joy and peace and love and mercy. He chose them to see the Messiah at His birth. He chose them to share the wonderful news of redemption.

And He even chose to offer true hope, everlasting hope, glorious hope to you and me. At this Christmas season, may we all rejoice at the birth of the Savior who gives us this hope.