No Room For Him

No Room for Him

While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She . . . laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:6-7

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:20

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 1:10-12

When all the people who were descendants of David arrived in the tiny town of Bethlehem to be counted, people made room in their houses for relatives, and the places for travelers to stay filled up quickly. So when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, they had to nestle themselves into a stall in a barn or perhaps in a cave that was used as a stable.

We might think that since God could orchestrate an empire-wide census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, surely he could have made sure there was a room available for Jesus to be born in. But somehow it seems appropriate that his life on earth would begin this way. Jesus never had a home of his own, and his own people rejected and finally crucified him.

Jesus never forces himself on anyone or into any area of our lives where we do not welcome him. So if we want Jesus to move in, we have to make room for him by clearing out many other things. It’s only when we open the door to him and receive him that he makes himself at home in our hearts.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What do you think it would be like to spend the night in a barn?

Why do you think Jesus had to live a life of poverty?

What would it mean to make more room for Jesus in your schedule, your heart, your home?