There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation or the
spiritual
meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He and his family
lived
in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer
and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes gave her
a
hard time about her faith and mocked her religious observance of
Christmas.
One snowy Christmas eve she was taking the kids to the Christmas eve
service at church. She pleaded with him to come, but he firmly refused.
He
ridiculed the idea of the incarnation of Christ and dismissed it as
nonsense. "Why would God lower himself and become a human like us?!
It's
such a ridiculous story!" he said. So she and the children left for
church
while he stayed home.
>P>
After they left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a
blizzard. As he looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding
snowstorm.
He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a
loud thump, something hitting against the window. And another thump. He
looked outside but couldn't see. So he ventured outside to see.
In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a
flock of
geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down
south,
but got caught in the snow storm. The snow had became too blinding and
violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were lost and
stranded
on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just fluttered their wings
and
flew around in circles around the field blindly and aimlessly.
He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to
himself,
"The barn would be a great place for them to stay! It's warm and safe;
surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm." So he walked
over to the barn and opened the barn doors for them.
He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go
inside. But they just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't notice the
barn
or realize what it could mean for them. So he started whistling and
calling
to them. He shouted, jumped up and down, waved his arms.
They didn't pay attention. He moved closer toward them to get their
attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into
the
house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread
trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.
Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them, run
after
them, and chase them toward the barn. They only got scared and
scattered
into every direction except toward the barn. None of his attempts to
get
them into the barn succeeded. Nothing he did could get them to go into
the
barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter; nothing he did could
make
them enter the one place where they could survive.
Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they listen to me!
Why don't they follow me! What's wrong with them! Can't they see this
is
the only place where they can survive the storm! How can I possibly get
them into the one place to save them!"
He thought for a moment and realized that they just won't follow a
human.
He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would
be
for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of
them!
Then I could show them the way! Then I could save them! They would
follow
me, not fear me. They would trust me, and I would lead them to safety."
He
stood silently for a moment as the words that he just said
reverberated back to himself in his mind: "If only I could become like
one
of them--then I could show them the way--then I could save them." He
thought about his words, and remembered what he said to his wife: "Why
would God want to be like us? That's so ridiculous!" Something clicked
in
his mind as he put these
two together. It was like a revelation, and he began to understand the
incarnation. We were like the geese--blind, gone astray, perishing. God
became like us so He could show us the way and make a way
available to save us. That is the meaning of Christmas, he realized in
his
heart.
As the winds and blinding snow abated, his heart became quiet and
pondered
this epiphany. He understood what Christmas was all about. He knew why
Christ had come. Suddenly years of doubt and disbelief were shattered,
as
he humbly and tearfully bowed down in the snow, and embraced the true
meaning of Christmas.
Author unknown
Quote:
We are the reason that He gave His life
We are the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give
To show us a reason to live.