I trust all readers know that the only reason we have this beautiful season of Christmas is because 2,000 years ago the greatest gift of all time was given. Jesus came to earth as an infant, born to a young couple who had been trained all their lives to look for the coming Messiah. Now they had to open their lives in a new way. They were no longer simply expecting the Messiah; Joseph and Mary discovered they were the chosen vessels through whom He would arrive.
Angelic visitations…
A miraculous conception…
A virgin birth…
Humility personified…
God became man, so man could be restored to God.
Both Joseph and Mary welcomed divine visitors to their homes. On the starry night of their Son’s birth, they received angels and shepherds to their lowly, makeshift abode. Although there was no room for them in the inn, they made room – for God, for His messengers, for kings, and for all who witnessed that glorious coming.
Think about that first Christmas. Imagine being any of the characters in this true story. Everyone who acknowledged the birth of Jesus made room for Him and room for one another.
Much later in His story, Jesus speaks to us words that should motivate us to open our lives in a generous, hospitable way:
“Then shall the King say to those on His right hand, Come, my Father’s blessed ones. Inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the universe; for I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink, I was a stranger and you received me hospitably, naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to me.
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Let this mind be in us as we cheerfully go about doing good and opening our lives to others this Christmas. Make room for Jesus in your inn.
Anne
Scriptures taken from Matthew 25, Wuest and New Living Translation
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