Poor Joseph. He was tired from the journey, but, more than anything, Joseph was worried about his young wife’s well-being and the baby to be born. Frustration and fear must have set in when, as a last option, Joseph had knocked on the door of a public inn hoping to secure a room for his little family’s stay in Bethlehem, only to be turned away once again.
The city was overwhelmed by a flood of people returning to register for Caesar Augustus’ decreed census. Desperate for shelter, Joseph must have begged the innkeeper for a quiet corner where his pregnant wife could rest. The innkeeper shook his head and pointed towards a cave-like animal shelter.
Poor Mary. Bone-weary from the arduous 90-mile journey from Galilee to Bethlehem and swollen with the baby that was soon to arrive, Mary was left with no alternative but to deliver her baby – God’s Son – in a stable surrounded by animals with her inexperienced new husband acting as midwife.
I’ve pitied Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus because of the rough, uncomfortable, cold, and unsanitary conditions of their straw-filled delivery room. As a child, I visited my grandparents’ farm many times and explored the barn where the cows were milked and fed. At its cleanest best, it was a stinky, mucky mess.
Meanwhile, safe and warm at the inn, the innkeeper and his guests slept, quietly conversed, or complained about Caesar’s decree that had dragged people back to their town of origin for the census.
The more I think about the story of Christ’s birth, the more certain I am that it is the innkeeper and his guests who are to be most pitied. Mere steps away from the inn, a world-changing event of cataclysmic proportions was underway, and they were unaware.
Poor Innkeeper. Poor Guests. The innkeeper and his guests did not know that the long-awaited and much-prophesied arrival of the Messiah was happening that very night in the nearby stable. They did not know that Jehovah God had sent His Only Son to take on flesh and break into our world in the form of a newborn baby boy. They missed the entire angel-celebrated, shepherd-attended, star-lit event.
So close to the miraculous, but the innkeeper and his guests missed out because there was no room for Joseph and Mary at the inn.
- They missed out on the miraculous.
- They missed out on a God-encounter.
- They missed out on an opportunity to serve the baby King of All Creation.
- They missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime event to worship God and celebrate the birth of the newborn Messiah alongside the shepherds and angels.
- They missed out.
Because there was no room at the inn.
Then I wonder. What do we miss out on when we don’t make room for Jesus? When our busy schedule crowds Jesus out. When we make no room in our day to talk to our Heavenly Father, read His Word, or think on Him? What are we missing?
That’s the question we must each ask and answer for ourselves, “What am I missing?
- Sweet soul-stirring God-encounters?
- Miracles and works of God in my life?
- Flourishing in the blessings and promises of God? Growing in our faith, assurance of salvation, strength for the day, peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, and so much more?
- Opportunities to grow in my faith, service, praise, and worship?
What am I missing?
What are you missing when you make no room for Jesus Christ in your life?
Christ is not looking for temporary lodging. He’s not an overnight guest. When you confess your disobedient and rebellious heart and surrender to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He takes up permanent residency in your life. Jesus and God’s Holy Spirit want your whole house – all of it. Every room, closet, attic, basement, every nook and cranny of your life. He wants it all. All. Of. YOU.
Why? Because Jesus wants you to be so much more than you were at that moment when you became His—so much more than you are today—so much more than you will be tomorrow. For that to happen, you must surrender everything to Him. You must make room in your life for Him.
Make room for Jesus by giving Him your all—heart, body, mind, and soul.
In return, He will give you EVERYTHING.
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:2-4