God and the Geese

This is not my own words, but a story I ran across online and wanted to share with you:

God and the Geese

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.    
His wife, however, did believe in God, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments. 

One snowy Eve, his wife was taking their children to service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus' birth. 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. 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 bread crumb 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. 

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with 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!  I am ready to do what you wish for me to do".

Heb 4:14-16, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.   Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need". 

The New Pastor

 

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek (pictured above) transformed himself into a homeless person and went to his newly assigned church where he was to be introduced as the head pastor that morning. 

He walked around this larger church for about 30 minutes while it was filling with people for Sunday morning service... Only 3 people said hello to him. 

He asked people for change to buy food... NOT ONE person gave him change. They turned away or said that they didn’t have any change… even though they had more than enough change for the coffee donation bucket.

He went into the sanctuary where he sat down in the front of the church. Shortly thereafter two ushers approached him and asked that he move to the back of the sanctuary. 

He obeyed, and as he walked to the back row, he quietly said hello with a warm smile to the people also sitting in the sanctuary. The greeting returned was stares and dirty looks. He felt that uncomfortable feeling of people looking down on him and judging him. 

As he sat in the back of the church, the service began. He listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders walked to the front alter... They were excited to introduce the new pastor. They were advised that the new pastor would be sitting with the congregation.

The only elder who was in on this experiment announced, "We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek!”

The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up… he began walking down the aisle. 

The clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him as he walked the altar. The elder who knew what was going on handed the microphone to the new Pastor. 

While holding the microphone, the Pastor looked down as he paused for a moment.

Then he looked up and quietly recited, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’… he paused as he looked over the congregation.

The Pastor continued, “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Members were shocked, some began to cry… many heads were bowed in shame.

He continued by stating, “Today I see a gathering of people, but I do not see a church that represents the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The world has more than enough people. We need more Christian disciples. 

My question to you this morning, when will YOU decide to become a disciple?” He then dismissed the service.

Far too many people do NOT understand that being a Christian is so much more than something you claim... It’s something you live by… it's compassion... it’s something you kindly share with others.

JOY

I read a newsletter from a dear friend, Yvonne Barrage who shared the acronym for JOY. She said it was something she learned as a youngster from her parents. I am fond of acronyms and want to not only to share it with my grandchildren, but with you also. I created a little image using a great website: Canva. It helps you create design easily. You can sign up for free! Check out my "JOY" design below. I was able to save the design as an image or pdf. Thank you +YvonneBarrage for sharing your thoughts and inspiring this design. You can catch her blog here: Grace Bound

Bird Nerd

 Ok, I admit that I turned into a bird nerd in my later years. I have developed joy in attracting birds in my backyard. I have two bird baths and used to have bird feeders in the front and back yard, until it attracted unwanted critters. Now I just view them in the back. Last Sunday at church, one of our dear members read this story before we partook of the Lord's Supper. Now, I will think of our glorious Savior each time I see a bird flying free and think about the price he paid for my sins.
Hope you enjoy the story too!