Why
Christmas?
For the Son
of God was given,
And was
hung upon a tree,
And God’s
greatest gift for Christmas
Is His love
for you and me.
There was
once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know
how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife,
however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God
and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.
One snowy
Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in
the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused.
“That story
is nonsense!” he said. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man?
That’s ridiculous!” So she and the children left, and he stayed home.
A while
later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man
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 had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked
out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he
ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the
field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been
flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t
go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They
just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and
aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man
felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great
place for them to stay, he thought. 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 doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice
the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and
didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man
tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved
further away.
He went
into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb
trail leading to the barn. They still didn’t catch on.
Now he was
getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn,
but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward
the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be
warm and safe.
“Why don’t
they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where
they can survive the storm?”
He thought
for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I
were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud.
Then he had
an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his
arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it.
His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn-and one by one the
other geese followed it to safety.
He stood
silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed
in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought
about what he had said to his wife earlier. “Why would God want to be like us?
That’s ridiculous!” Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We
were like the geese-blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so
He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas,
he realized.
As the winds
and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful
thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had
come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to
his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: “Thank You, God, for coming
in human form to get me out of the storm!”
-Author
unknown, original story adapted by Keith Phillips
Jesus’ Christmas Gift for You
My love is
always there for you-any place, any time, day or night.
My love
will descend to any depth to save, go any length to rescue.
It knows no
stopping place; it knows no limit in giving.
I give you My love, infinite and true.
My love
brings peace of mind when you are confused, rest when you are weary, and
strength when you feel you cannot go on.
My love
will calm your fears and give you courage in the face of despair.
My love can
heal when your body is broken; it can soothe your heartaches and pain.
My love
will ease your mind when it is troubled and weary; it will melt away tension,
worry and strain.
My love is
My Christmas gift for you.
It’s always
been there for you. Will you take it now?
Love, Jesus