Do You Have Room?

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted something… Okay, nuf said about that!

Picture it.  You’re the owner of the most well-known hotel in town, and the government has just sent out a statement demanding that everyone stop what they are doing and return to their hometown for an accurate head count.  Does the word “Jackpot” come to mind?  People are going to need a place to stay when they come to town and you, my friend, are about to seriously be in the money!  You start making plans – stocking shelves, making sure the kitchen is ready to go, order extra cots, start turning the conference area into makeshift rooms and (the most important preparation) jack the prices of each room up by about $100.00, because you paid attention in business class the day they explained the Law of Supply and Demand.

Then it happens.  Someone comes to check in, then another and another.  Pretty soon, you are all booked up and can finally light that little neon “No Vacancy” under your beautiful sign!  Oh, but your wallet is no longer vacant, and neither is your schedule.  You spend every waking hour supervising the staff, making sure every need is met and every penny is paid.  The kitchen never closes and the housekeeping staff is fluffing pillows and changing sheets and breakneck speed.

Then there comes a knock, knock, knock.  Who could it be?  Didn’t they see the beautiful sign outside declaring to the poor unfortunate souls without room and board tonight that you had nothing to offer them?  You go to the door to answer and find a poorly dressed man from the wrong side of the tracks standing there with a very pregnant wife who is obviously in labor and due to give birth at any second.  They are begging for any space that you could offer in your hotel, so the child would not have to be born in the streets.  What should you do?

You think about it for a minute.  Perhaps there would be room in the offices, or maybe you could quickly set up a closet as a makeshift room for the night.  But no.  They probably can’t afford the gouged price anyway.  But there is a place they can go.  You have a barn out in the back of the building.  It is run down and infested with who knows what, but it is the “best” you can do.  The couple graciously accepts the offer and they turn and walk slowly and painfully toward the barn and you know that in the morning the barn for two will be a barn for three.

This is something like the innkeeper at Bethlehem must have experienced that night when Joseph knocked on the door desperate for a place to stay.  The truth is that the innkeeper had options.  He could have asked a customer to give up their room and stay in the barn so the baby could be born in desirable conditions.  He could have even given up his own room.  The owners of inns lived in their establishments at that time.  But why didn’t he?  There are several reasons we could assume, but the simplest way to answer is that he simply didn’t have room.  No room in his inn.  No room in his heart.  No room for the King.

The innkeeper is a symbolic example of the state of Israel and the world.  Jesus, the King of the Jews, the Savior of the world came to bring peace and eternal life to anyone who would make room for Him, but the Jews denied Him as Messiah and crucified Him as a heretic.  The world for centuries have found other things and other ambitions to pursue which serve to crowd out the Savior.  It is the most tragic occurrence in human history and it happens every single day in ever single city, not just Bethlehem.

What about you?  Do you have room for the Savior to come in?  Have you given Him place in your life to live and dwell; to lead, guide and direct and be your King?  All he asks is that we give Him room by offering Him our faith and repentance, and He will take care of the rest.

Christmas is a time of celebration.  We celebrate the birth of King Jesus, but we also rearrange to make room.  We rearrange our furniture to make room for a Christmas tree and other decorations.  We save room in our budget to handle the added cost of running Christmas lights for the month of December, and provide gifts to friends and family.  We rearrange our schedules to make room for family and for employees to have time off to spend with theirs.  The world makes room for everything at Christmas time, but in all that rearranging, we have once again let all the stuff crowd out the Savior who still stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, asking for a place to come in.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in…” (the words of Jesus in Revelation 3:20)

This is the plea at Christmas.  Will you make room for Jesus to come in?  Or will you be like the innkeeper in Bethlehem that night? Or the nation of Israel when they cried for His crucifixion? Or like the world today who spends more time legislating and pushing “non-offensive” political correctness trying to keep Jesus out of His own birthday party than actually making room for the guest of honor?

“O little town of Bethlehem, looks like another silent night.
Above your deep and dreamless sleep, a giant star lights up the sky.
And while you’re lying in the dark, there shines an everlasting light.
For the King has left His throne, and He’s sleeping in a manger tonight.
O Bethlehem, what have you missed while you were sleeping?
For God became a man and stepped into your world today.
O Bethlehem, you will go down in history as a city with no room for its King,
While you were sleeping.”
(From “While You Were Sleeping” by Casting Crowns)