ROOM IN THE INN
"And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7).
How could one, even such a One as Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, suffer such a lowly birth? The wealthy of that age didn't sleep in the inns, they stayed with friends or had special abodes reserved for them. Commoners stayed in the inns. There wasn't even room for Jesus in such a place. Rather, it was out in the barn and He was probably placed in a wooden feeding trough.
But the more important personal question is, do I have place for Him, a real abiding place, in the rooms of my heart?
One commentator remarked: "Without a doubt it is the same today. Every chamber of the soul is so filled with human interests that there is little room for Christ. There is little vital interest in Him. There is little, if any, time for Him. And this is so, simply because our time is demanded by a thousand other things, our interest in drawn off in a thousand other directions, and our life is crowded to the full with possessions and pleasures until, strange though it seems, there is no room for the Savior except in the stable."
So I must ask, is Jesus merely in a stable in my life? Have I failed to make Him the core of my earthly existence? Until He has entered the door and reigns upon the throne of my life I cannot regard myself as being in any better position than those who slept comfortably while Mary gave birth to the infant God in a stable.
- Dick Christen
