“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
Engaged to one, pregnant by another. This situation would make anyone apprehensive. It sounds like a title on a tabloid magazine or a storyline in a soap opera, but it is not. It is reality.
This is how the Christmas story begins. Mary, the mother of the Savior of the world, found herself in a difficult situation, but not one of desperation. She humbled herself before the Lord and offered the one thing He wanted to use—a vacant room in the form of her womb. There, He transformed His Son into flesh and bones, being conceived of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t need Mary to be perfect. He only needed a willing heart and place to dwell.
Forty weeks later, God needed another place for His Son to stay. The inns at the city of Bethlehem had no place for Him. The Son of God went from the glory of Heaven to being formed in the womb of a lowly maidservant to sleeping in the only place available—a manger, the feeding trough of animals.
Jesus, King of Kings, could have been born anywhere, but He was born in Bethlehem, where there was a vacancy. The same is true in our lives. Christ is able to dwell anywhere, but He will rest wherever there is a place for Him. Many times, our hearts are filled with the world, leaving no place for the King. At times, we fill ourselves with the cares of this world. Sickness, death, finances, or a wayward loved one take over our lives and occupy an area of our heart never intended for them. When we focus on the adversities in our lives, we make no room for Him but instead leave Him to watch from afar.
God doesn’t require perfection. The innkeeper did not tidy up the dwelling place meant for animals before Mary took shelter in it and birthed her child. Jesus, the King and Creator of the Universe, spent his first moments in human form lying in a feeding trough. Though the manager offered a resting place far from perfect, Mary certainly must have forgotten the nature of her situation as she gazed at her perfect infant lying in an imperfect crib, her heart full of wonder as she trusted she made the right decision to offer her vacant womb to fulfill a Holy purpose.
Perhaps you have already invited Christ to dwell in you, but the space in which you allow Him to work is limited. Jesus will work with whatever we give Him, whether it is a small portion or all of ourselves. It is never too late to make more room in the inn of our hearts and give Him the suite He deserves.
Maybe you have not yet made room for Him in your heart. It is quite simple. If we humble ourselves before the King and offer Him whatever we have available, He is willing to dwell in the vacancy in our life and fill us with His peace.
Perfection is not necessary, only a space for Him to dwell.
