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. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in the faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her belief and mocked her religious observances. "It's all nonsence-why would God lower himself and become a human like us? It's such a ridiculous story," he had said.

One snowy day, she and the 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 for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hit against the window.....and still another thump. He looked outside, but couldn't see anything. He ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house, he saw.......of all the strangest things, 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, evidently had become too blinding and 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, and fly in aimless circles.

The man had compassion for them and wanted to help them. It came to him that the barn would be a great place for them to stay. It's was warm and safe, surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm there. So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they didn't notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer to 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. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn, where there was warmth, safety and shelter.

Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why won't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possible get them into the one place that can save them?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possible save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind. "If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them." Then at last, he understood "GOD'S HEART TOWARD MANKIND!"...............and he fell on his knees in the snow.