No room for the King

Luke 2:1-7

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 Here's another thought on this passage. If you are a Christian, then you believe that Jesus is God (if you don't believe that then you're not a Christian. Feel free to comment or email me if you want to discuss that). Jesus is God, as well as God the father and God the Holy Spirit. They are all equally God and they are all different persons. He was part of creating everything in the beginning. He sustains everything. In Paul's words in Colossians 1:16-17 

"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

 Jesus is God, he reigns over the universe, he created everything and he controls every bit of it. He flung the stars into space. He told the water how far it can come. He feeds all the animals. He makes the sun rise and set. He makes it rain and snow and hail. (Check out Job 38-40). Jesus is that God.

Yet he was born in a stable.

God became a man. A vulnerable, weak man. God is also holy, and he came and lived among sinful men (that means more than I can fathom). Not only was he a man, but he was born in a stable. A (probably) stinky, leaky stable which may have been full of dirty animals. Why was this? Because even from birth we, the human race rejected Jesus, our only saviour.

Hold up a second. The creator of the universe. The all-powerful, all-sovereign, all-knowing God, who flung the stars into space became a weak human being to die for other weak human beings who had, were and would reject him. He came to suffer for us. He came to suffer so we can not only be forgiven, but also be adopted as God's children and made co-heirs with him (Romans 8). He died so that he could share his glory with us, and by doing so he could further show his character and glorify himself.

Another Question: Was God unable to make room in the inn? Of course he could have made room! He's God! No, instead he chose to be born in a stable, to have his son be born in a stable to show his utter humility. To show his love for us. Why did Jesus come? 1 Timothy 1:15:

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.

Jesus came to display God's love for us (1 John 4, Romans 5:6-8). He came to take God's wrath, which we deserve and to take our sin (By "our" I mean myself and all other true Christians). He came to suffer, to be rejected and humiliated. That started at his birth and it continued until he died in our place.

Jesus came and saved us even though we did not make room for him. We still don't - we don't make room for him in our lives. No, he has to send the Holy Spirit to convict us and to cause us to accept him into our lives. God chooses to save us and we respond - we're so sinful that we don't even let him in after he's done that much for us. Yet on the flip side of that we do need to respond to Jesus. We need to repent and believe, to turn to him and to ask for his mercy and grace.

Jesus humiliated himself to save us, and the only way we are saved is by humbling ourselves and realizing that we cannot save ourselves. We have all sinned and we need to repent. We need to realize we were wrong and that there is nothing we can do to be forgiven. Then we need to look to Jesus who is God and who alone can forgive through taking our place and God's just wrath for our sin.

Have you made room for the King? Or is your heart still hardened, not letting him in?

Revelations 3:19-20

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.