A Christmas Story

After their parents go to bed, three young boys sneak out of their houses to go to the stable to play in the straw and pet the animals as they have done many times before. However, on this night, things seem different. There is a bright star in the sky and the night is almost like day. As they approach the stables, they see a light shining through the crack of the two barn doors, and they hear soft voices inside.

The boys sneak up and peer through the crack in the doors and see a young couple and a baby. Voices from behind them are heard and they hide to see shepherds talking excitedly and walking to the barn. The shepherds enter and kneel in front of the baby.

Amazed, the boys watch a while longer, listening to the shepherds talk about a angel appearing to them . The boys hurry back to their homes.

As time goes by, the events they watched seemed more like a dream, and eventually they no longer spoke of that night.

The boys grew into men and went their separate ways, having little contact with each other until one's father died. They gathered for the funeral and reestablished their friendships.

After the events of the day, they gathered outdoors and on this night, like the one many years ago, it was brighter than usual. One broke the silence saying, "this night reminds me of THAT night many years ago when we were boys!"

They reminisced and one told the others about a man named Jesus who was traveling the countryside claiming to be the Messiah. They had heard the shepherds mention that an angel had told them the same thing on that special night.

The three agreed to stay around and await Jesus' appearance which was scheduled to take place near them in just a few days.

Upon seeing Jesus they felt a strange closeness. Among the thousands gathered, Jesus spotted them and sent his disciple Andrew to bring them to him. When brought to Jesus, he called them by name, asking if they now believed? They responded with an enthusiastic "yes" and became followers of Jesus until their deaths.