The herdsman isolated the infected animals and treated
them with strong iodine. The next day they were worse
and many more had contracted the disease.
He isolated the newly infected animals and treated all
the sick ones with an antibiotic ointment.

The following day over half of the huge herd showed symptoms.
There was no way he could isolate all the sick animals.
He did not have enough medications on hand to begin to
treat them all, and most of them were beginning to look
really bad from not eating. The herdsman called a
veternarian.

By the time the veternarian arrived the following day,
the entire herd of goats was in awful shape with the
mangy disease. The goats were bloody from scratching.
They were bald, many of them had open, pus-draining
sores over most of their bodies They were a miserable,
pitiful sight.

For days the veternarian and the herdsman worked together
trying one formula after another. They used every treatment
they could think of. They took skin cultures, they posted
dead goats, they were out of ideas, and death stalked
the herd.

Finally the veternarian admitted defeat. "There's no way
I can think of to understand this terrible condition."
he told the herdsman, "unless I become a goat and live
with them for a while. If I do that, I can learn
what the problem is and how to treat it."

"You can't do that," protested the herdsman, "It's too
dangerous, what if you can't change back?"

"I have to take that chance," said the veternarian.
"I love these animals and I can't stand to see them
suffer." So the veternarian became a goat and lived
with the herd. Many of the sick animals resented his
intrusion and beat him unmercifully. Others were willing
to trust him, to believe he was what he said he was.
Those were the ones who were cleared of their mangy
condition and became sleek, shiny and productive
once again.

When a large number of goats were healed and the rest
were still fighting the veternarian, he decided the
time had come to leave the herd, reacquire
his original form, and work with the herd from afar.
Even after the veteranaian left the herd, the goats
that believed in him, lived in fellowship with him,
and trusted him remained well and whole, while those
around them continued to be plagued with the mange
and be haunted by death.

This story is not so far-fetched. It is the story
of how our Creator came to live with us as a man
named Jesus. It is the story of how He left our
existence through death to wash us clean of our
plague so that we might live. It is the story of
how many disbelieved, rejected Him and continue
to be haunted by death. It is the story of how
many believe and accept Him into their lives to
live with and for Him and because of that know a
freedom from fear and a quality of life never before
imagined.