“Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
Let earth receive her king.
let every heart prepare him room…”
“And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
When our children were small, our home had four bedrooms; one each for our two children, one for Karen and me, and one for my office. Whenever a guest would visit, we’d make space for them by opening the hide-a-bed and rearranging the desk and tables in my office. The space was cramped, but provided a comfortable place to sleep. We typically didn’t consider letting our guests occupy our bedroom; it was too inconvenient for us and we believed that they would not have wanted us to do that. But, imagine how special they would have felt had we done so!
The Lord has come! It’s easy for us Christians to receive our King, and even to prepare Him room in our hearts. But the question is, what kind of room are we giving Him? Are we simply rearranging some things to make a small place for Him to occupy; one where our lives are not inconvenienced by his being there? Or are we giving Him the best room we have; the master suite? After all, He is the Master, the King, and where He resides in our hearts is a barometer as to how special we believe He is. On this Christmas Day, let’s open our hearts and give Him the best room that we have!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for Christmas and for the joy it brings to the world. Help us to make room for Jesus so that our lives and the lives of those we encounter will be blessed. Let our hearts, with great thanksgiving, sing for joy.
Amen
Barnes Louthan