JUST LIKE US
Kathy Bernard - Publisher
 

The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory,
the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.  John 1:14

THERE was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ or the spiritual meaning behind it, and was skeptical even about God.  He and his family lived in a farm community and his wife was a devout believer, diligently raising her 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 day, the wife and children left for church while he stayed home.  After they had departed, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire.  Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window... And, still another thump.  He looked outside but could not see anything. So he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw the strangest thing.  It was 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 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.  Helpless, with no sure direction, they could only fly in useless circles.  As the farmer watched their aimless flight, he felt compassion for their plight and wanted to help the geese.  He thought to himself, the barn would be a great place for them to stay and it is warm and safe so surely they could spend the night there and wait out the storm. So he opened the barn doors wide for them to enter.

HE waited, watching them carefully from a distance, 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 but they panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be safe.

'WHY don't they follow me?" he puzzled. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive?" 

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.

SUDDENLY he had an idea. He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. When he released his goose, it flew through the flock and straight into the safety of the barn.

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.

AS the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and he pondered this wonderful thought. 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!"  Now it all made sense. That is what God had done for mankind.

BEFORE the Lord came to us, we were like the geese in this story, blinded by the snowstorms of life, perishing under the heaviness of sin and suffering.  And like the geese, we were stumbling in the chaos of a broken world, looking for sanctuary, looking for joy, looking for peace in a world gone wild. We needed shelter from our pain, our sufferings, our disillusionment, and our struggles.  We needed a retreat; a safe harbor. We needed something to hold onto, an anchor, a reason for the madness of this life.  We needed hope.

BECAUSE we were spiritually lost, we could not see God's footpath to shelter.  We could not recognize the goodness of God nor understand why He even cared.  Because of sin, we could not hear His voice calling out to us.   But God Who loves us unconditionally and faithfully, Who never gives up on us, saw our need and made a plan for mankind to come and live with Him forever.  He sent a Savior. 

JESUS became a man just like us, but without our sinful nature.  Leaving His eternal home, He put on the cloak of humanity, wrapped Himself in pain and suffering, and bore the burdens of earthly man.  He did not care what the elders in the synagogue were whispering about Him, for His Almighty Father had given Him a job to do.  In spite of the threats and scorn of the crowds, and bearing the stain of shame and degradation heaped upon Him, He moved forward with the message His Father gave Him to bring to you and to me.  He had no time to spend worrying about what others thought for He had a Divine promise of eternity for all who would listen, something that would bring us through the gates of heaven.  He knew what the outcome of His actions would be, but that did not stop Him, He pushed ahead, facing the slings and arrows of those who refused to accept Him and wanted Him dead.  He paid the price no innocent man should pay by giving up His life for us.  For only He and He alone could carry the cross and be the means by which God provided salvation and the forgiveness of sins. 

GOD demands atonement for our sin, an atonement no imperfect human can ever pay.  Only an infinite and perfect being could do this so Jesus paid our debts when He was nailed to the cross, and through the shedding of His blood, paid for all who accept and believe in Him.  He became the sacrificial lamb to help us overcome our struggles against the ignorance and darkness of evil with its final consequences.  Through His crucifixion, God received and accepted full satisfaction and restitution for our disobedience and injury done to Him by our sinful behavior.  

LIKE the farmer who opened his barn doors wide so the geese might be saved, Almighty God has opened up the doors to His kingdom if I choose to follow the teachings of Jesus.  If I believe that I can enjoy the shelter of God's everlasting eternity that the Lord Jesus secured for me, I will enjoy God's fullest promises forever. Though I may be torn and tattered by life and beaten down by sin, it is when I accept and believe in Jesus as Lord, that His sacrifice makes me clean and worthy to enter into paradise.  It is then that I will no longer be liable for the sentence of eternal punishment at the final judgment.   

YES, Jesus came just like us, to give an infinite gift that is still new, still shining and still valid today as it was over two thousand years ago.