There once was a flock of birds who forgot to fly south for the winter. Now it was late in December and it was getting awfully cold. God loved those birds and didn’t want them to freeze, so he sent his only Son to become a bird and to show them the way to a warm barn where they would be saved from the cold. Most of the birds were leery of this cocky new bird who said he knew the way to safety. The leaders of the flock felt threatened by this bird, so they killed him. Some of the flock believed this new bird and were saved from the cold by flying to the warm barn as the new bird had directed. Most of the flock, however, refused to believe this bird, and they died from the cold.

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”—John 1:11-12