Let every heart prepare Him room

  We tend to give the innkeeper in the Christmas story a hard time. After all, he turned away the Son of God and it resulted in Jesus being born in a dirty stable. But he had no idea who he had turned away, and it would most likely have happened the same way no matter who was in charge of the inn that night. Motel 6 was full, and the light was turned off. I would imagine Mary and Joseph were both a bit dirty and smelly from their journey and didn't stand out at all. Had he known who this baby was about to be born, I am sure he would have asked someone to give up their room... but he didn't know.

  And yet we vilify him for not making room for the Savior of the world.

  But are we any better than he? If you think about it, we are in fact worse than he was. He didn't know who Jesus was, and we do. How many of us truly make room for Him during this season that is supposed to be all about Him? We sing songs about Him, go to Christmas events centered around Him....yet do we truly make room for Him during the season of His birth? Do we make Him THE reason for the season?

  And do we make room for Him the rest of the year? This busyness and hustle and bustle of the Christmas season isn't just a Christmas thing. We are too busy every day of the year. Does it do any good to "let every heart prepare Him room" in December, if we don't give Him His place January through November? Are we taking enough time on a daily basis to make room in our day and our lives for this Jesus the innkeeper had no room for?

If we aren't taking time out of our day to pray, read our Bible, and focus on Him; then we are no better than the innkeeper. We may not be saying the words "no room", but by our inaction and lack of spiritual disciplines; we may as well have a sign on our heart saying "no room".

  Sometimes I am afraid that with all of our modern technology and drive through lifestyles we live, we are trying to do drive through/fast food Christianity. This serving Jesus is a daily walk that takes time and focus. We can't just put Him in a drawer or closet and pull Him out when we need Him. It is a 24/7, making Him the center and reason for every day, not just the reason for the season.

 Yes, we need to make room for Him during the busy Christmas season.....after all, it is all about Him. However, we can't just attempt to have our hearts prepare Him room only during Christmas.  If we are to give Him His rightful place and serve Him in the way He should be served, we must prepare Him room every day, and all day.