Two Babes in the Manger?

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)

I recently heard a different account of the Christmas Story, told through the eyes of a six year-old little Russian boy named Misha. He took a few liberties with the truth, but boy did it ever change the way he looked at the world around him.

Misha had never heard the story about the birth of Jesus until a missionary visited the orphanage where he lived. He and the other orphans sat on the edge of their seats as the missionary told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem with nowhere to stay for the night. All of the children understood how that felt and were glad to learn that the couple found shelter in a stable where Jesus could be born and laid in a manger.

When the missionary finished the story, he gave the children three small pieces of cardboard with which to make a crude manger. Each child was also given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins, which with a little help and a lot of imagination could be shredded to resemble the straw that was used for Jesus to lie on in the manger.

The children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown, were used
for the baby’s blanket and a doll-like baby was cut from tan felt that the missionary had brought with him.

As the children worked, the missionary went from table to table to inspect the their work. He noticed that little Misha had two babies in his manger and quickly called a translator over to inquire as to why.

Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his now-completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story as if he had heard it a hundred times. In fact, he related Saint Luke’s account about as accurately as any of us would probably have done, until he came to the part where Mary put the Christ Child in the manger.

“And when Maria laid the baby in the manger,” Misha told the translator, “Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. “Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did.”

“I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, ‘If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?’ And Jesus told me, ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.’ So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and told me I could stay with him–for always.”

As Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that coursed their way down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed. He had finally found someone who would never abandon him, never abuse him, someone who would stay with him–for always.

Misha’s account of the Christmas Story is a stirring reminder for all of us about the importance of having Jesus in our lives because if we have Jesus, then we also have his promises, one to which little Misha realized he could cling: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)