“And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

There is this scene in the movie The Nativity where, with Mary ready to deliver, Joseph frantically runs from house to house, pounding on doors, hoping someone will open up to him a place for the Christ child to be born.  At the last he goes to the local inn, where he is told there’s no room for them there.   Finally some man point them in the direction of an animal stall, and there the Lord Jesus is born.

It has been like this ever since—meaning, there is hardly room in the hearts of men for the Savior of the world.  Usually, it is only the place of last resort, the place where Christ finds for Himself a home; by this is meant a lowly and humble heart.

The Psalmist writes, “In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God” (10:4 NIV).  There is room for all manner of others things—careers, academic pursuits, investments, sports, and even good things such as family and friends; but unfortunately, few have room for God.  Even among professing Christians, ‘there is little space in their crowded lives for the God who loves them.

Our Lord said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” — that is, He is taking the initiative; He so wants to come in and “dine” with us, He so wants entry into our lives for the purpose of relationship.  Yet few respond, and they do not know what they are missing.

I think if Bethlehem only knew who it was that was to be born there that day things would have been different.  Folks would have been rushing to be the one in whose home the Messiah would be born.  And you would think that people today would welcome Christ into their hearts if they only knew.  Oh but they do know!  Jesus Christ is no secret; there is an awareness of the Christian message such as has never been before.  While secularists seek to wipe all vestiges of God and Jesus from the public square, still there are 100’s of thousands of churches, millions of Christians, hundreds of Christian TV channels, programs, and radio stations.  What is remarkable though is the diminishing space Jesus occupies in the hearts and souls of the populace.

We make room for God by letting Him in—and not just initially.  So many have ‘received’ Jesus at some point in their lives, but that doesn’t mean He occupies much space in them.  The idea is that He take up all the space of the human heart, every nook and cranny.  Of course, it is a process; I know this from personal experience.  But that is just it, it is a process, one we undergo willingly, wanting God to fill us up to the brim, being God totally.

We make room for God by spending time with Him.  The thing is, He not only wants to be with us, He loves spending time with us.  He’s knocking at the door not as some unwanted salesman, but as one who earnestly desires to have dinner with us.  Christianity is relationship; eternal life is not some place on a cloud with a harp, it is knowing the Father and the Son (see John 17).  We get to know Him—we get to know Him!  And this by spending time with Him, the most precious minutes and hours you will ever spend during the course of a day.

We make room for God in our thoughts.  That is, we learn to be thinking not only about Him, but the thoughts He thinks.  In the Bible it’s called renewing the mind.  We come to see things much differently than the way they appear; we grow to have God’s perspective.  If you love someone, you think about him (or her); anyone who has ever been in love understands this.  This too is a process, but oh what a process it is, to have a mind occupied with the One who made me and loves me.

We make room for God by obeying Him—not as some taskmaster, but as one who has our best interests at heart.  Father knows best.  Don’t we as earthly parents command our children for what is good for them?  We tell them not to play in the street.  We command them to stop fighting between each other.  We warn them about touching a hot stove.  God’s rules make for the best of living; in doing what He wants we find a life that far exceeds one lived apart from Him.  Obedience to God is a privilege; without Christ at the center of our hearts it is impossible to do what God wants, as we are without Him still bound by sin.  Obedience to God tells Him we love Him and appreciate what He does for us.

As for me, there is nothing I want more than more of God.  More than anything on the face of the earth I want to have supper with Jesus Christ.  You needn’t knock, Lord—the door is wide open; please do come in and make Yourself at home.  My home is Your home, and my heart is Yours for the taking.