"The Geese"
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.
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 stangest 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.
Nothing. 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. ! 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