Leaving Him Out
Christmas is around the corner! And I hope that over these weeks you have enjoyed the trees and the lights and the songs and stories. But really, these things are only meaningful if they do something to us within—if they stir up within us the familiar old story of Jesus Christ who came to save the world!
Christmas is coming, but here's the question: has it come within for you? Let me put it another way: Jesus was born 2000-odd years ago, but has He been born within you?
The Personal Question
If Jesus is called Immanuel, God With Us—is He Immanuel, God with YOU?
He could be. But for many of us, He isn't. He is the God With Us of Bethlehem, but not of our hearts, because we end up leaving Him out of our Christmas.
When I was a kid, one of the worst things my parents would ask me to do was to clean the garden chairs when people were coming over. I couldn’t stand that! One time my cousin and I decided to toss all the chairs into the pool to clean them – creative!
A short time ago we had my folks over to the house for some lunch. And as we were busy getting ready, I found myself out in our back yard, cleaning the chairs quite happily, because I wanted it to be nice for them! I had a bit of a laugh at myself at that moment.
Making Room
When somebody you respect is coming, you prepare for them. You make sure things are ready. But on the day when Jesus was born, nobody was prepared for Him. We read how Mary " wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." (Luke 2:7)
Perhaps if the inn keeper knew He was coming, it would've been a very different story. Perhaps they would have rolled out a carpet, gotten a band of musicians to play, gathered people from all around to line the streets and throw confetti. But maybe that is not how it was meant to be. Jesus entered the world humble and poor, born in a stable, placed in a manger. He showed us that God condescends to us—there's a song that talks about how Jesus 'laid aside His majesty'—that's just what He did that day, coming in the form of a child.
But the fact remains, many of us today leave Him out. Our homes are full of Christmas decorations, but He is left out. Our speakers blast Christmas music all day, but He is left out. We eat and drink and be merry, but He is left out.
He is Immanuel—God with us. Don't leave Him out. You’ve still got a few days to prepare! Let's not say "there's no room for you today" as we celebrate. Let's bring Him into our homes, into our lives, into our conversations, and be so full of His joy and His peace as we celebrate the birth of Immanuel, God With Us.
