A friend of mine named Paul received anautomobile from his brother as a Christmas present.On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, astreet urchin was walking around the shiny new car,admiring it.
"Is this your car, Mister?" he said.
Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me forChristmas." The boy was astounded. "You meanyour brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost younothing? Boy, I wish . . ." He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wishfor. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all theway down to his heels.
"I wish," the boy went on, "That I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to takea ride in my car?"
"Oh yes, I’d love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind drivingin front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show hisneighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stopwhere those two steps are?" the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was notcoming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step,then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs.
His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’mgonna give you one just like it . . . then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in theChristmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brotherclimbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride. That ChristmasEve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said: "It is more blessed to give . . . "