The story is told of a small church in a big city that one night, just two nights before Christmas, the statue of the baby Jesus was taken from the church manger scene. And when the priests discovered that the statue had been stolen, he contacted the police. Why would anyone be so cruel? So heartless as to steal the statue of that precious baby Jesus?
Police scoured the area, checked in pawn shops, garbage dumps anywhere to find the little statue. Finally, on Christmas Eve, they had to admit they had no clue, no lead, the baby Jesus was gone. As the people left their church service that night, they said “How could anyone be so mean and cruel”.
As they spoke to each other, they saw a young boy, a very small boy. And behind him, he pulled a shiny red wagon. And as the little boy came closer, as the people stopped to see him approaching out of the darkness, they noticed that there was something in his wagon. And finally, as he came fully into the light, there it was sitting in that shiny red wagon – the statue of the little baby Jesus.
The police were curious to know where the young boy had found the statue in hopes that they could capture the thieves. But to their surprise, the little boy told him that there had been no thief – That he had taken the baby Jesus – but why?
And that’s when he told the story of his family, and just how poor they all were, and how badly he wanted for Christmas – a new red wagon. But there was no chance for his parents to buy him anything that special for Christmas. So, the little boy said that he came to the church – to the manger scene – asked the baby Jesus if He would give him a wagon for Christmas. It seems foolish to use a boy praying to a statue to give him a wagon.
But the request, the prayer by the little boy was not to a statue, but to God. And to the little boy’s sheer delight that night – when he returned back to his home – there it was – a shiny red wagon. The baby Jesus had heard his prayer.
But “why” said the priest? “Why did you take the statue?”
The little boy’s answer was simply this. He had told the baby Jesus, that if he would help him get his new wagon, that the first to ride in the wagon was – you got it – the first to ride in his wagon would be the baby Jesus. He had taken him home for a ride in his wagon. Now, he was bringing him back.
So just where did the wagon come from? Well, each year, the local Fire Department would ask for old toys to be given to them so that they could fix up these old toys, make them like new, then to give them to the poor families of the neighborhood – they were the ones who had brought the little boy his shiny red wagon.
But who really gave the little boy his wagon?
You tell me!
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