Johnny lay quietly in his bed listening to the rain hitting the window. “This hard rain and wind will finish off the rest of the snow,” he thought as he snuggled down under the covers. “I’m glad I’m not out in it, ‘cause that wind sure sounds cold.”
Just before Johnny drifted off to sleep he thought about the good winter he’d had. All the snow they’d had was great for his new snowmobile. Then there was good ice on the pond in January and the fast hockey games. But probably the best fun of the whole winter had been Dudley, the Canadian goose that had been his pet since November.
Yes, Dudley had added more fun to their home. He was almost like another child, and Johnny already had three brothers and two sisters. But he was the oldest and, well, Dudley was different from his brothers and sisters. In fact, Johnny did have more fun with Dudley than with anyone else.
It was near the end of November when Johnny and Dudley first met. Johnny was riding home on the school bus. His father’s farm was the last one on the bus route, so just he and his brother Steve were still on the bus. Johnny was looking out the window at the plowed fields. They had a light covering of snow, and he could see that the pond had a little ice around the edges. Just then something moving in the pond’s drainage ditch caught his attention. It looked like a big bird.
As the bus turned around in their driveway Johnny gave his books to Steve to take in and said, “Tell Mom I’ve gone to look at something in the ditch.” Then, hopping down from the bus he took off towards the pond.
As Johnny got closer he slowed down to a walk and then very slowly crept to the edge of the ditch. Sure enough, there was a big goose! Many geese flew over their farm in the spring and fall, but usually they did not stop at this small pond. As Johnny watched, the goose came up out of the marshy grass and up the side of the ditch. It was then that Johnny could see that its left wing and leg were injured. The goose could barely walk and apparently could not fly. It would flap its good wing, but the hurt wing barely moved. He saw that the injured leg could not support the goose’s weight at all.
Johnny ran home and told his mother about the injured goose while he changed from school clothes into “goose-chasing” clothes. “We can keep it in the old chicken house,” he called back to his mother as he dashed out the kitchen door.
Johnny ran to the barn first to get an old burlap gunny sack. Slowly and cautiously he approached the ditch again. When he was about 15 feet away he ran at the goose, holding the sack open, only to be met with a snapping bill that stopped him in his tracks!
Again another chase, and this time the goose tried to fly, but could only flop along on the grass. “I’m only trying to help you,” said Johnny gently. “You’re going to die out here if someone doesn’t help you.” Finally, after several more tries an exhausted goose was carefully placed in the sack and the heavy load gently carried home.
Many of us are like this goose. God has said in the Bible that we are “dead in trespasses and sins,” and God cannot accept us with our sins. Yet there are millions of people still trying to get to heaven themselves in spite of their sins. If God says we are dead in our sins, how can we possibly do anything?
And then, just like the goose struggled and fought with Johnny who was trying to help him, so many of these same people struggle against God’s efforts to save them. God loves each of us so much that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for us. The Lord Jesus suffered on the cross for the sins of those who would believe in Him. He is able to give “new life” to those who are dead in sins. Do not fight against God. He wants to save you if you will let Him.
Johnny and his mother fixed up the goose as well as they could and put him in the fenced-in chicken yard. When Daddy got home and looked at the goose, he told them that the injuries were wounds from a hunter.
The name “Dudley” was suggested for the new member of the family. They gave him mash to eat, and he could go in the chicken house to get out of the snow and wind. Dudley seemed happy in his new home, and his wounds healed rapidly. Johnny and Dudley soon became good friends, and Johnny would play with him in the chicken yard.
One day the gate into the chicken yard was left open by mistake. Dudley went out into the yard, stretched his wings a few times, but did not fly away. From then on they left the gate open, and he went in and out as often as he wanted.
For those of us who have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we are cared for by Him every day. He shows us the right path in the Bible. He supplies everything we need and shows us His love. He also shows us the love of others who know Him as their Saviour. Dudley was in a place where he could be happy, at least for awhile. As Christians we have been left in this sinful world to live for Christ and to be happy, too.
The winter passed quickly for Johnny and Dudley. Now it was late March, the beginning of spring.
One sunny Saturday morning chores were nearly finished when Johnny first heard them, Stopping, he listened. He heard them again—geese! They were flying high overhead making their continual “honking” calls. Johnny ran outside and looked up into the clear morning sky. There they were—a big vee of geese. Johnny quickly turned and looked at Dudley. Dudley had heard their calls, too. As Johnny watched, first sadly and then happily, Dudley stretched his wings, started to run and took off. His great wings beat the air as he rose into the sky. Within a minute he was part of that vee heading north. Dudley was heading home!
The hope of every Christian is to hear that shout—that call: “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... then we... shall be caught up together... in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16,1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17). It is this call that will lift us “in the twinkling of an eye” out of this sinful world. We will be home! Everyone who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour will be with Him forever!
But what about you? Are you waiting for His call? Is the Lord Jesus your Saviour? If not, we urge you to accept Him right now, before it is too late. Don’t wait any longer. Accept Him as your Saviour today.
ML-03/28/1982