Growing up, I loved listening to the radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey. For years my big brother, Patrick would sometimes call me Paul Harvey because I liked telling stories too. I don’t know if Paul Harvey originally told this tale of the Christmas birds, but I think I heard it from him. I can’t remember the exact telling so I’ve recreated my own version for you.

One snowy Christmas Eve, a man told his wife he would not be going to church. “I can’t listen to that preacher any longer. It makes no sense to me that God would come as a baby in a manger and live among humans. You can believe what you want, honey, but I’m staying home. I’ve had it with church.”

The sad wife bundled up and walked out the door into the night without her husband. The church wasn’t far, just across the bridge, and down the lane from their country home.

The man settled into his worn, leather armchair by the fire on that cold, winter evening. He pulled out the newspaper and began to read of the war raging across Europe as snow swirled outside. Too old now for soldiering, the man hoped this New Year, 1945, would bring an end to the war and peace would finally come.

As the log crackled down in the fireplace, the snowstorm intensified. The man heard a thump against the window. Then more pounding against the glass panes of his house. 

Rising from his comfortable seat beside the hearth, he threw on his coat and ventured outside to investigate the strange sounds.

A flock of birds was caught in the snowstorm. Lost and confused, the frightened little birds flew into the windows of the man’s home, seeking light and warmth so they might live. 

Overwhelmed with compassion for the birds, the man decided to let the flock into his warm barn. He went and opened the barn doors, turning on all the lights, hoping the birds would fly inside on their own, but the birds wouldn’t go near the barn.

The man tried to get close enough to the birds to herd them inside, but they were terrified of him. Again and again, he attempted to gather the frightened birds, but they avoided him at all cost, flying into the bitter darkness where he knew the helpless birds would perish in the blizzard.

If only I was a bird, he thought, I could just lead them safely into the barn… 
At that moment, the church bells rang out across the river. The man fell to his knees in the snow, the presence of the LORD overwhelming him. 

He suddenly and clearly understood why Jesus had come as a baby and lived a life among men. God chose to be human for a short while so they would follow him. 

The man folded his trembling hands in prayer and asked the Lord to forgive his sins. That very night, the man was saved.     

Wishing you a Merry Christmas friends!