No one knows the true author of this story but it serves as a parable on the meaning of the incarnation. It was told by Paul Harvey and his version is the only one I have ever come across.

A young couple celebrating their first Christmas together discover the true meaning of sacrifice as they seek to give each other gifts.

This story was written by a screenwriter in 1939 because he was told to write something. It is a story of incarnation and humility. It has become a modern Christmas classic.

This is a story of sacrificial giving. The hero lives his life for others and when his back is against the wall and he is about the kill himself he ends up saving Clarence, the wingless guardian angel. In response Clarence grants the wish that all desperate people make, "I wish I had never been born." Yet in the end he is willing to sacrifice even that wish to help others.

The old one or the new? When they made an updated version I was bitterly disappointed with the ending. The ploy of the Post Office delivering letters to Chris seemed plausible, but the new ending where the judge dismissed the case based on the motto "In GOD We Trust" seemed strained. But perhaps it is more modern. Isn't faith the real issue today? Do we believe? And what do we believe in? The power of money or the power of sacrificial love?

The innkeeper is often the villan of the nativity story. But this story turns the innkeeper's role in the story on its ear. Read the story for yourself.