The Innkeeper

This was originally published on December 19, 2013. It is still extremely relevant today.

We have all been there.
I’m sorry; we are not taking any more reservations.
Tickets are sold out!
No vacancy!

It is a horrible feeling, realizing you are too late.
You have the feeling of being passed by.
You second-guess your timing.
You kick yourself for not acting sooner.

All of those instances, while frustrating, are not eternally significant.

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 his own town to register. So Joseph who 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 room for him in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)

No room!
No vacancy!
Imagine.

We sit centuries later and say that never would have happened.
We would always make room for Jesus.
We would never have Him come into the world in a smelly stable.
We want only the best for Him.

We are kidding ourselves.
We would have done just that!

Perhaps it would have been money that motivated us.
A poor man with a pregnant woman about to give birth is not the best paying customer.
Better to lend the rooms to someone who will pay handsomely this time of year.

Perhaps it would have been the desire not to get involved.
People’s lives are messy and we have enough trouble of our own.
Someone else can take care of them.

Perhaps it was personal protection.
What if something happened during the birth and we were held responsible?
What if someone checked on the exorbitant rates we were charging, just because we could.

It never would have been us, we say.
Yes, it would.

We know the story.
We know this baby is Jesus, the Son of God.
We know what turning our backs on Him means to us in the eternal scheme of things.

Yet, we do it every day!

We give God our Sundays but not the other days of the week.
We obey Him in this instance, but not that because we know better.
We read His word but can’t imagine it has any relevance to our lives today.

We have no room for Him!

We try to figure things out ourselves and then run to Him at the first sign of trouble.
We make our own plans and ask Him to bless them after we make them.
We talk to everyone else and ask advice instead of running to Him in prayer first.

We have no room for Him!

We put His Word behind our backs since we are much too enlightened.
We deny Him outright.
We deny Him subtly.

We have no room for Him!

We care more about what people think of us than what God thinks of us.
We care about our position, our status, and our acceptance.
We desire to be a lone ranger until we realize it’s impossible.

We have no room for Him!

Having room for Him means giving Him the primary place in our lives.
Having room for Him means adjusting our schedule around Him instead of vice versa.
Having room for Him means that we are a distant second or third or fourth; He is first!

We are just like the innkeeper.
Something magnificent is happening right under our noses but we are too far off to see.
We hang the No Vacancy sign on the door of our heart every day!

Funny thing is, God never hangs a No Vacancy sign.
God always has room!
God desires for His people to be with Him.

The problem of having no room is not with God.
The problem of having no room is with us.

What is the state of our inn?
Is it so crowded with unimportant things that there is simply no additional space?
Is it dirty with trappings of the world and needs a major renovation?

The amazing thing is that God enters our inn at its dirtiest.
Any renovations that need to be done will be completed by the Master Craftsman.
God is the Perfect Renovator.

There is no excuse!
There IS room in your inn.
What was once squalor will now be a five-star hotel when He is through.

Let it never be said that there was no room for Him in the inn.
Open the door and let Him in!