A Modern Parable

I heard the below story years ago and have since re-read it in The Art of Personal Evangelism by Will McRaney. It is a Christmas story of sorts and a wonderful analogy of why God became a man!

There was a man who was married to a good Christian. He, however, was a non-believer. He never went to church. One Christmas Eve, his wife took the children to church, while the man stayed home. He lit a fire in the fireplace, filled his pipe, pulled a good book from the shelf, and settled into his favorite chair, a steaming cup of coffee beside him. Boy, could I see myself doing that!

After a while, there came a tapping at his window. The man looked up, and saw a sparrow on the sill, outside. He figured the bird would leave, so he went back to his reading. Tap, tap, tap. He looked up, and saw two sparrows, and the first snow flurries. Still, no cause for concern. They’ll go away soon.

Tap, tap, tap. This time, there were several birds, and the snow was coming down heavier. The man was starting to get concerned. The birds were in danger of freezing. Well, not his problem. He went back to his book.

Tap, tap, tap. Now, there was a whole flock of sparrows, and a blizzard was howling outside. This would not do. These birds needed shelter, and quickly. The man struggled into his boots, shrugged on his coat and headed out to the barn. He opened the barn doors wide, turned on the lights, and thought “This will save them. They will see the light, and fly to the safety of the barn.” He went back inside.

Soon, another tap, tap, tap. More sparrows. More snow. The temperature was dropping. “This won’t do at all.” the man thought to himself “I will leave a trail of food to the barn. They will follow the path to the light, and be saved.” So, once again, he put on his coat and trudged outside.

Back in the house, the man watched the sparrows huddled on his sill. They just didn’t get it. He thought: “If only I could be one of them, I could lead them toward the light and salvation.” At that moment, the man suddenly understood why God sent His son to us.