God's heart toward humankind is reflected in the way he dwelt among us.,,,
Pastor Phil Weaver answers a topical question.
What is the true spirit of Christmas?
There was once a farmer who believed the very notion that God would become man was absurd. The farmer’s wife was a Christian and he always mocked her belief in the incarnation of God.
One evening the wife went to church while the farmer remained at home. As the snowy weather quickly deteriorated into a blinding snowstorm he heard a couple of loud thuds against the window. In the yard was a flock of geese! Whilst migrating south they had become disorientated by the storm, becoming stranded.
The farmer quickly opened his barn doors hoping the geese would head in for some temporary shelter. The birds were having none of it. He tried to shoo them in, but to no avail. Then he got some bread to coax them in but they just wouldn’t follow. “Can’t they see I’m trying to save them,” he muttered.
Then an odd thought occurred to him: why should they follow a human? “If only I could become like one of them … then I could warn them, and they would follow me to safety,” he said to himself.
These words reverberated in his head. “If only I could become one of them!” It was right there he began to understand God’s heart towards humankind. The only way we would ever begin to follow him is if he became one of us. The next minute the farmer found himself bowing his head thanking God for all that he had done!
That’s the true spirit of Christmas. God becoming one of us so that he may dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ to lead us to safety, (John 1:14).
From Direction Magazine issue 232
