There’s no room in the inn! That is perhaps one of the most famous lines of the original Christmas story that most of us can remember. Joseph and Mary came into the town of Bethlehem for the census and the Motel 6 was full. Do you think God knew this, or did it catch him by surprise? Surely God knew there would be no place for His Son to lay his head except in the manger. What was God trying to say?
I think God is making several statements here. First of all, Jesus became poor for our sakes so that we could become rich. The Apostle Paul said, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-9) Jesus stepped out of the riches of heaven and humbled himself to become a man. And as a man, he didn’t become a king, but he embraced our human poverty to the fullest extent. He was even born into poverty with out a place to lay his head. Jesus became poor so we could receive the riches of God’s mercy and grace. He can give to us now the riches of being a child of God’s kingdom. The person who truly comes to know Jesus Christ is rich indeed.
Another lesson from the manger is that God uses the humble things of this world to shame the wise (I Corinthians 1:27). God allowed his son to be born into the most humble of circumstances. God took that which was so humble and used it to change the world. God was making a point here. Jesus is attracted to humble things, humble places, humble hearts. God says he rejects and opposes the proud. He takes man’s highest wisdom and reduces it to nothing.
If you are going to get on the inside with God, you must humble yourself. To find the God of the universe, you have to gaze into a manger and acknowledge the One that was born there is the very Son of God. To be forgiven and inherit eternal life, you must kneel at a Roman Cross and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God’s perfect lamb who died in your place. You must know that your only hope is found at the feet of this Savior. The world has a very hard time with this message. The prideful person has a hard time surrendering and acknowledging their need before God. But God delights in using the humble things of this world. Jesus is still born in mangers. He looks for those humble places, humble hearts that he can come into with his life. Is you life like the manger – a humble and willing place for Jesus to lay his head?
Finally, this whole scenario tells us that some people will often declare that they simply have no room for Jesus either. The world will often reject Jesus and simply declare they have no room for this king. The truth is that they do not want a king over their lives. They want to be their own king. So some will simply shut the door on Jesus. He will not be welcome. Our witness of Jesus will not be welcome at times.
What about you? You may have gone to church for years, but your heart has had a “no vacancy” sign over it. Have you really given room to Jesus fully in your heart, or have you kept the door closed?
Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” (Revelation 3:20). Have you opened the door? Make room. Make room in your heart for Jesus. And that’s the Word.