In 1994, two Americans who had answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach Biblical ethics, were invited to a government-run orphanage, where about 100 abandoned and abused boys and girls were being cared for.  It was Christmas, so the Americans gathered the children together to tell them the story of the first Christmas.

Afterwards they gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger, a small square of flannel for a blanket, and a tiny baby cut from tan felt.

All went well until they came to where six-year-old Misha sat. One of the teachers was startled to see not one, but two babies in Misha’s manger. The boy repeated the Christmas story accurately–until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib,

And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay.  I told him I have no mamma and 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.  But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much. I thought

maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.

So, I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told

me I could stay with him—for always.

You too can have Jesus with you always. If you come to Him right now, you have His promise, “The Lord your God…will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).