The Christmas Lamb

 The Christmas Lamb

“Blaze, you give that hat back to me right now, or I’ll tell my daddy!” Tandy was shouting loudly as Blaze disappeared into the trees.

Sticking his head out from behind a branch, he mocked, “I’ll tell my daddy!”  Oh, how that made Tandy’s blood boil! 

“I’ll tan your hide when I catch you, Blaze Garrett!”  She ran around the tree and chased him out into the clearing by an old red barn.

"Hey, what’s going on here?”  The kids stopped in their tracks and turned to see Sophie rolling up behind them in her pink chariot.  “Are you guys playing chase?”

“No!” gasped Tandy as she caught her breath.

“Blaze stole my hat, and I want it back NOW!!!!”  Blaze was jumping back and forth waving the knitted cap high above his head.

“Come and get it, Tandy!” he sang in a high-pitch.

“Wait, guys!  Did you hear that?”  Sophie was

rolling quickly and quietly across the lovely carpet of leaves.  “Listen!”  She stopped, and they all froze.
“It’s coming from that old barn over there.”

“No way, Girls!  My daddy will skin us all alive!  Tandy, you know he’s told us to stay out of these old sheds!”  Blaze crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Sophie’s right!  Something’s crying in there!

Listen!”  Tandy moved closer.  “I’m going in.
What about you, Sophie?”

“Let’s roll!!!!”  With a

       snap, snap, clap, giggle and a wink,
      Sophie flew to the barn in her chariot of pink!

Tandy caught up with her at the door and turned toward Blaze.  He hadn’t moved a muscle.  “Why, Blaze, you’re just an old chicken!”  With that, the girls disappeared into the barn.

Blaze’s mouth flew open.  He couldn’t believe they went in.  “Well, I guess I might as well go, too!”  he said out loud.  “I’ll get in as much trouble as you will for not talking you out of it!”  He kicked the ground and ran to the swinging door.

The barn was pretty dark, but the light was shining through the cracks in one corner. Something was moving around and crying real loud!

“Oh, look!”  cried Sophie.  “It’s a little baby lamb, and he’s caught up in wire over here in the corner.”  She reached out and touched the soft wool, and the lamb nuzzled his head in her lap.

“Here you go, Little Fella!” Tandy whispered as she bent down and freed his leg.  The lamb ran free and scurried past Blaze as he fled through the door.

“You know, this old barn and that little lamb remind me of a story Faye Faye told me about Christmas!”  Tandy said with a smile.

Blaze put his hands in the air, made an ugly face, and took giant steps toward the girls.  “Yeah..I’ll bet it was a scary story about wild things!  Oh! Oh! O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ow!”  Tandy and Sophie just stared in disbelief.  How silly could one boy possibly be?

“No, Goofy!  Let’s go outside and I’ll tell you a real story about the Lamb of God.”

Tandy started out the door with Sophie and Blaze on her heels.

Blaze and Tandy sat down on an old log in the clearing, and Sophie rolled up beside them.  All eyes were on Tandy as she began the story with, “This story is about Jesus.”

“Jesus?  Yeah, I know that story!”  said Blaze and Sophie nodded.

“But it wasn’t about a lamb in a barn.  Jesus was a baby.”  Blaze was puzzled.

“Blaze, I really want to hear this story.  Just listen!" urged Sophie.  "Go on, Tandy!”

“God loved us so much---just like a shepherd loves every one of his little lambs---that He couldn’t stand to be separated from us.”  Tandy’s eyes were filled with wonder as she went on.

“So, God sent an angel to a very godly woman named Mary to tell her that she was going to have a baby,”  Tandy whispered and smiled.

Blaze burst in, “Yeah!  I remember that story!  She wasn’t even married to that Joseph guy.”

“No, Blaze, she and Joseph weren’t married, yet.  This baby was God’s son,” Tandy pointed to the sky as she spoke.

“God sent His son all the way from heaven to earth just for us?”  Sophie asked quietly.  “Why would He want Him to leave heaven?”

Blaze and Sophie edged closely to Tandy.  Why on earth?

“That’s exactly what He did, because He loved us so much!  We are all His lambs, and He doesn’t want to lose any of us….not even one!” Tandy’s finger went into the air.

Blaze wanted to hear more.  “Well, what happened?  Did Joseph marry that lady?”

Tandy smiled and went on.  “Of course, he did.  He obeyed what God told him to do.  Faye Faye said that they traveled to a town called Bethlehem to register for the census.  Joseph tried to find a room for them to stay in, because Mary was ready to have the baby.  But all the rooms in town were full, so they had to stay in an old barn, probably like that one.”  She pointed to the old shed.

“You mean that the baby was born in an old barn on the hay?  I’ll bet it was all dirty and stinky and cold in there.” Sophie shivered as she rubbed her arms.

“They wouldn’t let the Son of God have a room with a bed?” Blaze couldn’t believe his ears.

“You guys, not everyone understood or believed God’s words.  Lots of shepherds followed the stars to where baby Jesus’ lay, because they DID believe.  Kings and wisemen came from all over the world to see the new King of Israel…the Son of God…the promised Savior.”  Tandy was now standing, shouting the good news.

Then, she said with a sweep of her hands, “They brought Him precious gifts and knelt down and worshipped Him.”

Blaze shook his head in disbelief.  “Everyone should have believed.”

“There are still people who don’t believe,” Tandy stared at the ground.

Sophie whispered, “So, they are just like that little lost lamb?”

“Yeah, they are.”  Tandy answered.  “But, the best part is this...God never gives up!"

Blaze and Sophie’s eyes widened as they looked into Tandy’s eyes with hope.

“God is always reaching out for His lost lambs, so they can find Him.  That’s why He sent Jesus to live, die, and rise again as a sacrifice for us all---THE LAMB OF GOD.”  “But,” Tandy assured them, “that’s another story I’ll tell you some time.”

“I always loved Christmas for all the presents I got,” Blaze admitted.

He looked at Sophie.  “But Christmas is really about who Jesus is…God’s special gift to us.”

Tandy leaned forward, “Blaze and Sophie, Jesus came to earth to save us….all of us.  All we have to do is ask Him into our hearts.”

“And we won’t ever be little lost sheep!” Sophie said with a smile.

Blaze shuffled his feet in the dirt.  “I can’t understand why anyone would want to be lost, alone, or separated from God.  He must love us all an awful lot!”

“Now, let’s do something for Him!”  urged Tandy.

Blaze and Sophie's eyes lit up!

“Let’s share Jesus with everyone every single day!!!”  Tandy was bursting with excitement.

“Yeah!  Let’s do it!”  Blaze shouted as he ran toward the trees. 

“I think I’ll wear this nice little cap to spread the news!” 

And with that, he disappeared into the trees.

“Climb on, Tandy!  We’ll cut him off at the Rainbow Tree!”  Sophie cried. 

 

With Tandy perched on the back of her chair, and with a

new mission in their hearts, there was a
            snap, snap, clap, giggle and a wink,
                and they sped to spread good news
             in the chariot of pink.