ALL I REALLY WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS ROOM IN MY HEART FOR YOU

Luke 2:1-7
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and 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.

Beautiful Baby Jesus,
On a busy night in Bethlehem, You left Your throne and crown in heaven to come to earth for me. Because of the hustle and bustle of the season, there was no room for you at the village inn. No one in the crowded community recognized You as God. Rejected, You were offered the dark and dirty stable.

Not much has changed in 2000 years. We’re still too self-absorbed to notice You in our midst. Caught up in consumerism, we’re busy buying presents, baking cookies, trimming trees, and hosting parties. We’ve forgotten the reason for the season. Today, You’re rejected at the inn of our hearts, left outside in the cold dark world.

All I really want this Christmas is room in my heart for You. Please come in and warm up. Every room in this heart of mine is available to You. Some of the rooms have been tightly locked for years. Behind those dark doors that won’t budge are hurt, confusion, and sorrow. I’ve been avoiding the mess in these rooms for a long time. Cleaning and removing the rubbish is hard work. I’d rather be doing fun things like shopping, baking, decorating, and entertaining.

Today, I’m inviting you to enter those secret chambers. In the hallway of hurt, wash my wounds. Show me the hidden treasure in my pain. Soak my sorrow in Your sweet solution of comfort and love. Turn my mourning to joy. Plunge beyond the locked door of my past. Purify me in the fountain of forgiveness. In your ceaseless compassion and mercy, I will discover peace in my pain and power in my problems. In this room, I will allow You to carefully pick up the shatter pieces of my past and masterfully restore my radiance.

As long as I keep You out of these dark and dirty rooms, I am rejecting You. This Christmas, I am inviting You to enter into all of my life. Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal for thy courts above. Amen.

Where do you have the Keep Out sign posted? What messy room in your life has been tightly locked for many years? This Christmas give Jesus the key and let Him in. He will clean it beautifully.