And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7
No room for them in the inn.
What a sad statement.
As I look around today, I see a sad reflection of that statement in the lives of many people who have no plans to make room for Jesus in their lives.
Have you made room for Him in your life?
Have you any room for Jesus,
He who bore your load of sin?
As He knocks and asks admission,
Sinner, will you let Him in?
Refrain:
Room for Jesus, King of Glory!
Hasten now His Word obey;
Swing the heart’s door widely open,
Bid Him enter while you may.
Room for pleasure, room for business,
But for Christ the Crucified,
Not a place that He can enter,
In the heart for which He died?
Have you any room for Jesus,
As in grace He calls again?
Oh, today is time accepted,
T’morrow you may call in vain.
Room and time now give to Jesus,
Soon will pass God’s day of grace;
Soon thy heart left cold and silent,
And thy Saviour’s pleading cease.
(Writer Unknown, Adapted by Daniel W. Whittle, Melody by C.C. Williams.)
When my sisters and I were young and involved with singing with the Sunday School and Youth Group for the carol service, one of the medleys we always used to sing was verse 1 of the carol No Room for the Baby at Bethlehem’s Inn, and then verses 1 and 3 of the hymn above, Have You Any Room for Jesus?
You see, Dad is always mindful of the real message of Christmas, and always has in the forefront of his mind 2 Corinthians 6:2 – Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. He won’t hesitate to challenge the hearts of his listeners, through the spoken word or through song.
Are you sharing that message with your children?
Do they know why Christmas is the “dawn of redeeming grace” as the carol Silent Night proclaims?
Are you challenging their hearts to receive Jesus as their Saviour when teaching them about why we celebrate Christmas?
And what about us? A line from Joy to the World says, “Let every heart prepare Him room.” How can we do that this Christmas, and indeed every day of our lives?
Are we letting the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) adorn our lives?
How about “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”? (Philippians 2:3-4)
And then there’s Ephesians 4:31-32
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Amid the busyness of this Christmas season, may we never lose sight of Who and what it is we are celebrating and what a wonderful gift we have been given.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
~ Wendy Sparkes ~
(Keeping with the theme of No Room, if you are looking for a gift to give a child about 8-12 years, then I highly recommend Patricia St.
John’s Treasures of the Snow. In it one Christmas Eve, Annette hears the pastor talk about there being no room in the inn and then making room in her heart for the Lord Jesus who is standing at the door of our hearts, knocking. Annette has a problem, because while she desperately wants to give room to the Lord Jesus, it means she will have to give up hating Lucien – and she really doesn’t want to do that. But the “No Room” and Revelation 3:20 come home to Annette very clearly on Christmas Day and her salvation story is one of my favourite parts of the book. It also then plays a part in Lucien’s salvation too.)
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15
* All Scripture references are taken from the NKJV*