The author is unknown. In fact, I don’t remember where I first heard this story, but it perfectly illustrates the love of our Father and the price Jesus paid to set us free.
A man was walking through town one day when he saw a young boy coming toward him swinging an old, rusty birdcage. In the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. The man stopped the boy and asked, “What have you got there? The boy said they were just some old birds.
The man then asked the boy what he was going to do with the birds. The boy said he was going to take them home and have some fun with them by teasing them and pulling out their feathers to make them fight. “I’m gonna have a real good time,” said the boy.
The man then told the boy, “But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. Then what will you do?” The boy said he had some cats that would like to have them. The man looked at the boy for a minute and then asked him how much he wanted for the birds. The boy replied, “You don’t want these birds. They’re just plain, old field birds. They don’t sing. And they aren’t even pretty!” The man asked him again how much. The boy sized up the man as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”
The man reached in his pocket and took out a ten-dollar bill and gave it to the boy. In a flash, the boy was gone. The man then took the cage and gently carried it to the end of an alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars, he persuaded the birds to come out, setting them free.
In a parallel story: One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all!”
“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked. Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna tease them and hurt them and make them fight. I’m gonna have a real good time!” Jesus then asked Satan, “But you’ll get tired of those people sooner or later. Then what will you do?” Satan said, “I have ways to kill them.”
Jesus just looked at Satan for a minute and then asked him how much he wanted for the people. Satan said “You don’t want them. There’s nothing special about those people. They’re just plain, old men and women. And they aren’t even pretty!” Jesus asked him again how much. Satan sized up Jesus, sneered at Him and said, “All your blood, and tears, and… YOUR LIFE!”
Jesus said, “It’s done.” And He paid the price. Then God began to gently tap on the hearts of all men, women, and children, wooing them to come to Him, so He could set them free.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).
