IF I HAD BEEN IN BETHLEHEM

IF I HAD BEEN IN BETHLEHEM

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 them in the inn.
LUKE 2:7

Most of us remember hearing about the birth of Christ as small children. We remember the shepherds, the wise men, and the angelic choir; but as children we were also very aware of the animals. We think about the the camels, the sheep, and the donkeys. One of the things that always stood out to me was the whole thing about “no room in the inn”. All of us have thought, “if I was there it would have been different. I would have made room for The Lord”. The problem is that we are all probably wrong, we we have also been unaware when Christ came near. Christ has come to us at Christmas, He comes every year. One of the ways He comes to us is in the faces of “the least of these”. Jesus is there in the hurting people all around each of us. He is in the forgotten prisoner, the neglected elderly, the homeless, and of course the orphans. Martin Luther spoke about this idea of “no room in the inn”. Check this out.

“All of us should use the gospel to evaluate ourselves. How near or far are we from Christ? How are we doing in faith and love? Many become inflamed with dreamy devotion when they hear about how impoverished Christ was when he was born. They grow furious at the people of Bethlehem and criticize their blindness and ingratitude. They think that if they had been there, they would have served the Lord and his mother. They wouldn’t have allowed them to be so miserable. But these people don’t even notice their own neighbors who are nearby and need their help. They ignore them and leave them as they are. Who on earth doesn’t have miserable, sick, blundering, or sinful people around them? Why don’t they show their love to these people? Why don’t they do for their neighbors what Christ did for them?”

That is pretty convicting. Christ is all around us in the form of the hurting. He is in the faces of the sick in the healing room, He is in the pain of the young woman at Mary’s Song, and He is in the homeless attending church this Sunday. He is also all around you in the hurting people that cross our paths every day. Maybe your next door neighbor is facing issues this Christmas, maybe members in your own family are facing incredible pain, or maybe you have a divine appointment somewhere on your daily routine.
Too often, Jesus still finds no room in the inn. All of us are guilty. Lord help me not to be so self absorbed this Christmas, help me to sense you in the hurting people that you are bringing by my path.

Merry Christmas