Christmas in Heaven - a short story

The newcomer looked around. Everything was glorious - so very glorious! The apostle John had attempted to describe it, but his words had been but an earthly attempt at describing the indescribable! This was the presence of the Lord!

Or at least it was the "outer court" where saints of all ages awaited the great day of resurrection only hours away (in heavenly terms). In their spiritual bodies the millions visited, reminiscing about the blessing. And lamenting the "mistakes." Here those of whom legends were written met with misguided "believers" with the facts that revealed the truth.

One such saint was Nicholas of Myra. A kindly man who had forsaken the world's riches to serve Christ. In giving away his wealth he had build memories embellished through the centuries. His generosity had been the basis of legends - even "fairy tales" - of annual visits by beings that friends of his day would never have recognized!

"If I could but turn back time," Clement Moore lamented, "I would never have written such nonsense." He spoke, of course of his famous portrayal of "Saint Nick" in "A visit from St. Nick," known around the world as "The Night Before Christmas." Though only a small percentage of he saints present had actually heard this story, the new comers of the past few heavenly "hours" were eager to know the truth.

"Don't feel bad," Nicholas said, "for you were only reflecting the combined fantasies of generations of ignorant people looking for hope and love in a world gone mad."

"But even when we knew it was make-believe," one new comer assured the repentant minister, "we enjoyed the 'spirit' of the story."

"But behold," Nicholas declared, "the Light of the world!" He directed attention toward the brightest light in the universe - where heaven met earth, where eternity touched time. This was the light of the nativity - seen by lowly shepherds in a heavenly army of God's angels, and by distant royalty as a star, which led them to the child born savior of the world!