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Once there was a man, who dared to go out on a dark cold night to borrow some live coal to kindle a fire for his wife and his newborn child. He went everywhere and found no one was awake. He walked for some distance and at last, saw the gleam of a fire from a distance. He approached to that direction and observed that the fire was in the open. There was a shepherd who was sleeping nearby with his sheep and three dogs.
As the man approached nearer, the dogs woke up yet could not bark. They charged at him with their sharp and pointed teeth. Yet the man’s dire necessity made him move forward. A dog bit his leg, one his arm and the third dog bit him at his throat. But the pain was not experienced by the man. The fire was farther but the man noticed that a sheep blocked his way. The sheep lay back to back and so the man walked on the backs of the sheep, yet not one of the sheep awoke. The shepherd looked up as the man almost reached the fire. He threw his staff at him. The staff went towards the man, turn to one direction when they were near the man and propelled in another direction.
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The man went up to the shepherd and requested him for a fire. The shepherd was not interested in parting with it, yet he did not dare to deny him as he noticed that the dogs or sheep could do no harm, neither did the staff hit him. So he agreed and complied with his request. But the shepherd was astonished to see the man picked the red coals with bare hands and placed it in his mantle. The shepherd followed the stranger and found the stranger’s wife and child lying in a mountain cave. The shepherd was totally moved and he gave a soft sheep skin to the stranger asking him to use it for his child so that the innocent child does not freeze to death.
The moment he showed mercy, he was engulfed amidst silver winged angels singing loud tones that a savior was born to redeem the universe from its sins. He then realized why nothing went wrong with the stranger. He noticed angels around the mountain cave and was taking care of that infant. All this jubilation and songs he could see in pitch darkness, whereas prior to this incident he could see nothing. He was happy that he opened his eyes and thanked God.
This is true that what the shepherd saw, each one of us can see, provided you do things with sincerity, compassion and true feelings. However, everyone is bestowed with lovely such eyes to see God’s glory and this is possible even with a simplest but unselfish act of yours. |
