Make Room For Jesus

Just over 2000 years ago, there was a husband and wife who had traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be taxed. She was nearing her due date and he was tired from the journey and worried about his wife. They arrive to find that there are travellers everywhere and of course they forgot to make reservations. No Vacancy is all they could hear. Finally one inn keeper offers the finest accommodations available . . . for donkeys. And of course, they take it and she goes into labor and their son is born amidst the mooooooing and bahhhhhing. And it was in such conditions that Jesus Christ was born into the world. It's the Christmas story, the reason for the season. Perhaps you've all heard of it before.

Many times, I think we've heard the story so many times that we no longer allow it to impact us. We miss the amazing nuances and powerful lessons hidden among the shepherds and the wise men. We forget the selfless sacrifice of a teenage mother and a confused husband to be. We take for granted the angels singing and the innkeepers inability to find a room. The story becomes "old hat" and we fail to allow Christmas to impact us the way that it should. Because we unfortunately don't make room for Jesus Christ in our Christmas.

Oh - we've got all the decorations. We've got the wonderful food, the office holiday parties and the Christmas Cards, the secret Santas and the sparkling lights. But do we forget Jesus in all of our festivities? If we fail to recognize His significance, Christmas is just another retail shopping trap designed to get you to spend more money than you can afford on gifts that won't be appreciated because they are given to people who don't really need them. So be careful to not forget the real reason for the season.

Growing up my mom and dad fought hard to insure that we always kept Jesus at the focal point of the holidays. Of course we had our Nativity scenes positioned in their optimum place and we went to multiple church services and we usually attended a Christmas play or a living Nativity scene each year. But the one thing that I've never forgotten was the emphasis they placed on insuring that we never forgot this great story. Every year on Christmas Eve while others opened gifts and had big meals, we gathered together in our living room and we prayed together as a family for those who were in need and had less than we did. And then together we all opened our Bibles and we read the passages from Matthew and Luke that reveal the treasure of the birth of Christ.

I'm all grown up now. I have two children of my own. But every Christmas Eve, if you happened to drop by my house, you'd see Rodney & Davina, Jordan & Abigail, Nanny & Papa, and anyone else that we can have stop by gathered together in our living room for a time of prayer and thanksgiving and then for a careful read of this amazing story. About 4 years ago, I passed on the reading responsibility to my son and this year for the first time he's going to share it with his sister. And I'll tell you, there's something so refreshing about passing on a tradition of such value to your children and watching them embrace it and look forward to it.

So this year - don't forget to make room for Jesus. Don't get to busy with all of the hustle and bustle that you forget the humility of a savior being birthed in a stable. Don't forget the power of shepherds having angels reveal to them a Messiah's birth. Don't forget the joy of wise men who chose to follow a star until it revealed a king. Don't forget the willing vessel Mary or sacrifice of Joseph. Don't forget the innkeeper who while he had no room, he gave what he had. Don't forget the animals who got a front row view of God stepping out of eternity and into a robe of flesh. Don't forget to give Jesus room in your Christmas and make this a year that your family will remember .... not for the lights or the presents or the parties. Rather, they'll remember because they rediscovered the true reason why we celebrate. Merry Christmas! Love you all! -- RP