It was one thing to sit in a comfortable living room and talk about the west, but it’s something else when you are face to face with it.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Quick and the Dead)
“By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.”
–Proverbs 24:4 (NKJV)
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I am convinced that we do not spend enough time contemplating the Word of God. Take this time of year, for instance, we know the Christmas story, but do we really look at it? I mentioned how “dreams” played a part in the story. Today I want to look at Luke 2:7.
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
–Luke 2:7 (NKJV)
When I read this verse my mind went to a song written by Dallas Holm several years ago. In fact, Annie and I were in the audience the day he first sang it in public at a David Wilkerson rally. It is a humorous parody about Joseph and Mary doing to Bethlehem.
“Well, the man said, ‘All I’ve got to offer is a little old shack.
And you can find it if you look close; it’s out ’round back.
Well, chase those cattle out, and move some things about,
I’ll see you in the morning, and don’t forget to check out!”
Look at verse 7 again, and you’ll see one of the saddest phrases in all Scripture: “there was no room for them in the inn.” Have you ever been in that situation? I remember the time that we moved from Florida to Colorado. I was being transferred from Tyndall AFB to the Air Force Academy. We had been driving all day, pulling a trailer, and both of us were weary and tired. As we approached Dallas we began to search for a motel. Nothing! All were full. We kept driving and driving, and finally, there was one room left at a motel in Gainesville, TX. All we heard along the way: No room! No room!
I wonder how Joseph felt. There must have been concerned for he knew that the baby was going to be born. Yet, at the same time, he was a man of faith and he knew that the heavenly Father would take care of things.
But go back to that statement. “No room for them at the inn.” Look around you and you’ll see the same thing today. There is “no room” for Jesus in this modern, enlightened, woke culture. I believe that the innkeeper saw their plight and was concerned. He gave what he had left. The culture of liberal America scoffs and scorns. They mock the thought of the miraculous Incarnation of the Son of God. There is no room for Him.
How about the place where you work? The workplace often has “no room” for Him. I know of some places where people are not allowed to speak of Jesus during working hours, nor are they allowed to place a Bible on the top of their desk. There’s room for other things: swearing, taking the Lord’s name in vain, lewd conversation, politics, but no room for Jesus Christ.
We are supposed to have freedom of speech in our land, but there is “no room”, except in certain locations to speak of God. He has been removed from schools in prayer. If a person wants to speak of God, of the Savior, they are to go to the church building on Sunday, but even now, many are those are closed up by the government. There is no room for Jesus.
I will also say that there is “no room” for Jesus in higher education and it is working its way down into the secondary and elementary schools of our nation. “God,” how archaic and mundane the scholars say. Jesus proclaimed that He was the Truth, but the enlightened men in the halls of academia laugh, saying that truth is relative, or truth in what you perceive it to be. No, there is no room for Jesus in education.
May I then dare ask–do you have room for the Lord in the inn of your heart? Don’t look for Him in the beer joint or the casinos. Don’t look for Him in the halls of bureaucracy or the prisons. We must provide for Him a place to stay in our hearts. Dare to open the doors of your heart wide and invite Him in, not just as a guest, but as a permanent resident.
I will say one more thing in this regard. If you accept Jesus to live in your heart, you will find that there is no room for you in the world. You are now a pilgrim traveling through this wicked and sinful world. The world’s opinion and yours cannot coexist. The world’s opinion is now against you. You are in a foreign land looking for that heavenly city.
“No room,” I pray that it is not so with you. Open up the door of your heart and give Jesus His rightful “room.”