There is a beautiful story told about the Emperor Akbar and his sage minister Birbal. One day Akbar asked Birbal whether God incarnated and if so, when and why. Wise Birbal told Akbar that his question would be answered a few days hence.
So, several days later they had a royal picnic scheduled on the Royal Steamer Cruise Ship with all the royal family and guests in attendance. The atmosphere was one of jubilance and gaiety. A short while after the ship had left the shore and was sailing in the ocean, Akbar and Birbal were standing on deck talking and enjoying the beautiful view.
Suddenly, Akbar turned pale and screamed for help. However, before anyone could even ask him what had happened, Akbar himself jumped into the deep waters and swam furiously toward an inflatable dummy of his son, which was floating a few hundred meters from the boat. As he grabbed the dummy, thinking he was saving the life of his son, he realized the prank. His heroic fervour turned to fury as he admonished Birbal for his cruel joke.
Birbal, however, said,
I needed to answer for you the question of how, when and why God would incarnate on Earth. Just as you jumped immediately into the raging sea to save your dearest son, without even thinking about the repercussions for yourself, so God incarnates on Earth whenever His devotees are in pain.
In the Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjun that whenever there is darkness and strife, He will incarnate to guide His children back to the light. God is our saviour, our preceptor. He protects us and loves us as a parent loves the dearest child.
God's invitation to us is always open. He is always available, always ready, always there, whenever we cry out in pain or beseech Him for help. And if we don't accept His invitation right away, He says, no problem.
