There was no room in the inn, Luke 2 tells us.
Too many people in Bethlehem, and maybe only one inn. So there they are, 100 miles later, Mary as pregnant as you can get, sitting in the straw in a stall. We remember the innkeeper as a decent man, who did the best he could, and the best he could do was the barn.
And of course, we draw the obvious conclusion every year and talk about making room for Jesus in our hearts. Good point, but I'm wondering about other things.
A friend of mine (never actually met him, but we've spoken on the phone and talk online almost daily) had a serious car crash a few weeks ago. He'll recover, but he has big bills. He evidently has spoken of me enough that his friends and family decided to contact me. He's a great guy, leads a church, helps a lot of people. I want to help him. But I want to help my brother too, and we support a guy at a camp in Colorado and a Compassion child and the missionaries of our church.
All good things, all part of God's work. So how much room does Jesus get in my wallet?
And I have all kinds of electronic ways to manage my time. I use Google Calendar to keep family informed of my schedule, and my Outlook calendar syncs with my new Android phone. At regular intervals through the day my phone vibrates or my computer dings to let me know the next thing I have to be at. Yet some things are conspicously absent. No colored spaceholder for devotions. No reminders to pray. No prompting to praise or ponder or plead.
So how much room does Jesus get in my day planner?
Metaphorically speaking, right now when it comes to time and money, do I give Jesus the barn, or a hotel room? Or do I take Him home, give Him the master bedroom, let him use the kitchen, pick the TV channel, actually live with me like family?
The heart's the easy part. Giving Him due space in my life gets a lot harder. But it's an axiom of detective work that if you want to know what someone's into, get a look at their checkbook and their calender and you'll soon know their loyalties. Without me there to explain a lot of things, I don't think either of mine screams "JESUS IS LORD."
Too many people in Bethlehem, and maybe only one inn. So there they are, 100 miles later, Mary as pregnant as you can get, sitting in the straw in a stall. We remember the innkeeper as a decent man, who did the best he could, and the best he could do was the barn.
And of course, we draw the obvious conclusion every year and talk about making room for Jesus in our hearts. Good point, but I'm wondering about other things.
A friend of mine (never actually met him, but we've spoken on the phone and talk online almost daily) had a serious car crash a few weeks ago. He'll recover, but he has big bills. He evidently has spoken of me enough that his friends and family decided to contact me. He's a great guy, leads a church, helps a lot of people. I want to help him. But I want to help my brother too, and we support a guy at a camp in Colorado and a Compassion child and the missionaries of our church.
All good things, all part of God's work. So how much room does Jesus get in my wallet?
And I have all kinds of electronic ways to manage my time. I use Google Calendar to keep family informed of my schedule, and my Outlook calendar syncs with my new Android phone. At regular intervals through the day my phone vibrates or my computer dings to let me know the next thing I have to be at. Yet some things are conspicously absent. No colored spaceholder for devotions. No reminders to pray. No prompting to praise or ponder or plead.
So how much room does Jesus get in my day planner?
Metaphorically speaking, right now when it comes to time and money, do I give Jesus the barn, or a hotel room? Or do I take Him home, give Him the master bedroom, let him use the kitchen, pick the TV channel, actually live with me like family?
The heart's the easy part. Giving Him due space in my life gets a lot harder. But it's an axiom of detective work that if you want to know what someone's into, get a look at their checkbook and their calender and you'll soon know their loyalties. Without me there to explain a lot of things, I don't think either of mine screams "JESUS IS LORD."
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