Once upon a time, there was a man who looked on Christmas as a lot of humbug. His name wasn’t Scrooge. Actually he was a generous, kind and caring man. His family, neighbors and business associates held him in high regard. However, at Christmastime, when the churches were proclaiming the message of the Bible about God becoming incarnate in Jesus, he didn’t believe it. He was too honest to pretend that he did. Some of you might feel the same way.
On this particular Christmas Eve, his wife and children went off to church for Christmas Eve services. He again refused to accompany them. After they left, he noticed that the snowflakes had begun falling. He sat there looking out the window. The flurries became quite heavy. In a matter of minutes it looked like a pure white sheet outside. He thought, “Well, if we have to have Christmas, a white one would be nice.” He went back to his chair beside the fireplace and began reading his book. He read for a while until he was startled by a thud, then another and another. It sounded like someone throwing snowballs at his window.
He put down his book and went outside to investigate. He found a flock of birds huddling miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter they tried to fly through his window. He thought, “I can’t let them stay there in the snow. They’ll freeze to death. What should I do?”
He looked across the yard at the old barn near the house. He decided that it could provide the shelter needed. He went back into the house to get his hat, coat, gloves and boots. By this time the snow was several inches deep. When he reached the barn, he opened the doors and turned on the light, thinking it would be a safe haven for the stranded birds. However those shivering creatures didn’t take his cue and stayed where they were. The man thought again about what he could do to save them. He went to the kitchen and found some bread which he cut into pieces. He then sprinkled the breadcrumbs from where the birds were all the way to the open door of the barn. The birds totally ignored the bread! They continued to flounder helplessly in the snow.
The man tried to figure out another approach. He went behind the birds and flapped his arms and clapped his hands to “shoo” them into the barn. They went in every direction except toward the barn. He was beside himself.
He thought, “They probably think about me as a rather strange and scary creature. I wish that just for a few minutes I could be a bird. Then I could lead them to safety.” At that moment the church bells began ringing the glad tidings of Christmas. He stood there as the snow fell and listened to the bells pealing Joy to the World and other Christmas carols. Then he fell to his knees and said, “Now I understand, O God, now I see why You had to come as Jesus.”
Christmas is understanding what it means to have God with us, and why He chose to be with us. He wants to lead us to eternal safety.
Attributed to Louis Cassells
from http://www.witandwisdom.org
Used with permission.
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