Advent: Innkeeper

DAY 14: Innkeeper – No Room at the Inn

“And while they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” – Luke 2:6-7 ESV

QUOTE:
“One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper was not hostile; he was not opposed to them, but his inn was crowded; his hands were full; his mind was preoccupied. This is the answer that millions are giving today. Like a Bethlehem innkeeper, they cannot find room for Christ. All the accommodations in their hearts are already taken up by other crowding interests. Their response is not atheism. It is not defiance. It is preoccupation and the feeling of being able to get on reasonably well without Christianity.” – Billy Graham

No Room by Joseph Brickey

No Room by Joseph Brickey

My Thoughts:
I like Billy Graham’s quote a lot.  There is no room at the inn.  There is no room in our hearts this Advent Season.  Why? Because other things are crowding out the one important thing–Jesus Christ.   It’s true.  We are too preoccupied with work’s deadlines, kids’ demands, Facebook updates, and our smart phones in general for our own good.  As the song Joy to the World says, “Let every heart prepare him room.”

Someone once told me there is a God-shaped vacuum in our hearts.  And it hungers to be filled, to be satisfied, to be joyful.  Because, like any vacuum, it must be fed and active.  And so we try to fill it with food, sex, drink, work, toys… you fill-in the blank.   But the people who eventually find lasting satisfaction, incomparable love, everlasting peace, and all-encompassing joy are the ones who realize that only God can fill the vacuum in our hearts.  Because He created us for Himself.  As C.S. Lewis points out in Mere Christianity, “God designed the human machine to run on Himself.”  And we keep trying to run it on the wrong juice.

Poem: A Prayer For December – author unknown
Dearest God,
Please never let me
Crowd my life
Full to the brim.
So like the keeper of Bethlehem’s Inn,
I find I have no room for Him.
Instead, let my heart’s door
Be ever open,
Ready to welcome
The newborn King.
Let me offer the best I have
To Him
Who gives me everything.

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  • Experiencing Advent

    The focus of Advent (which means "coming") is first and foremost on the first coming of Christ, specifically Jesus' incarnation and birth. And the second focus of Advent is on the fulfillment of the kingdom promises, specifically the second coming of Christ. It is my intention to reclaim and rediscover the Advent Season by writing a blog post twice a week for Advent that is full of Scripture, quotes, music, artwork, and prayers. And I hope you will join me for the journey to Bethlehem. To begin the journey, start here.
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