Is There Any Room? 
 Mary and Joseph had traveled a long way to Bethlehem. Joseph pleaded desperately with the inn keeper to give them a room. After all, his wife was going to have a baby and they needed a warm, clean place for the King of Israel to be born. The inn keeper wouldn't be swayed. He probably didn't even believe their story. I mean, come on, why would anyone believe that the King of Kings would be born in this town on this night. Kings are not born in hotels. They're born in palaces. The inn keeper wasn't completely heartless. He told Joseph, that he and Mary could stay in the stable around back where he kept his animals. So, after thanking the man, they set off for the stable. It was not the grandest birthing room in the world, but it was all there was, so they rested there for awhile. During the night, something wonderful happened. Mary gave birth to her first born son right there in that cave. There were no handmade quilts or baby blankets to cuddle him in so she wrapped his tiny body in the rags they found there and she laid him in the manger. It wasn't a fancy crib and it had no bumper pad or soft mattress, but at least it was off the ground and the Savior could rest there. What would it be like to lay your first born in an animal feeding trough and cover him with a bunch of old rags? I'm sure this was not Mary's first choice either, but it was the will of God for His Son. Just think about it, Jesus could have been born when they were traveling and they would have had nothing to wrap Him in and no place to lay Him and not even a cave to shelter Him from the weather. Or, like most kings, he could have been born in a beautiful palace with numerous attendants to care for his every need. However, God had a plan. He chose the humbleness of a stable for His Son. Imagine, there not being any room for you in the world. Ouch! Imagine there not being any room for Jesus. Ouch again! The latter is a bigger boo boo than the former. How dare the inn keeper tell the King of Kings, he had to be born in a cave. How dare the people of Bethlehem not notice His need. How dare we, today, not notice Him, the One who came to save us from our sin. What, me not notice Jesus? I go to church. I pray. I serve. Yes, but do you consider your service for Christ a stewardship? Do you take care of the gifts and opportunities He has given you? God used Mary and Joseph to be the earthly parents of His one and only Son. When the God of heaven entrusted his precious Son in to the hands of of these humans, He expected something more of them than just to feed and clothes Jesus. Mary and Joseph were to be the stewards of the Savior of the world. That meant they had to not only supply Him with the basics of life, but to cherish and nurture Him as they would care for themselves. Are you a steward of what God has laid before you? Do you have room for Jesus? © 2000 Michael's Hope Ministries. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. |