THE GEESE AND THE SNOWSTORM

THE GEESE AND THE SNOWSTORM
(Author Unknown)

There was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ or the spiritual meaning behind it; he was skeptical even about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised their children in the faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her belief and mocked her religious observances. "It's all nonsense ... why would God lower himself and become a human like us? It's such a ridiculous story," he said.

One snowy evening, the man's wife and children left for a church meeting, while he stayed home. After they had departed, the winds grew stronger, and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. The man soon heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window, and then another thump. He looked outside but couldn't see anything, so he ventured outside for a better view. 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 they had been caught in the snowstorm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. 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 opened the barn doors for them.

He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. 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 with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward
the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn.

Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't you follow me? Can't you see this is the only place where you can survive the storm? How can I possibly get you into the one place to save you?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not 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 save them. They would follow me, and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had just said. The words reverberated in his mind: "If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them." At last, he understood God's heart towards mankind ... and he fell on his knees in the snow. He had come to know the One who "became one of us" just to save us.