In Bethlehem Inn: Between Verses Six and Eight
“And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
Luke was, among other things, a physician, and with that comes an eye for detail! It’s very interesting that in his gospel, strategically located between the birth of Christ (verse 6), and the announcement of his birth to the shepherds via the angel (verse 8 and following), we find the account of the Bethlehem Inn that had no room for “them” (Joseph, Mary, and the baby she was carrying), to stay for the night.
This past weekend, we presented a dinner play entitled, “In Bethlehem Inn,” written by John W. Carter. It is a delightful and heart-transforming story adapted from Luke’s account of the birth of Christ in which we see the heart and life of an innkeeper by the name of “Eli Merriman,” his wife “Sarah,” along with their daughters and four wild n’ crazy servants who are just as different as they can be, along with a couple of shepherds, all fall in love with a baby named “Jesus” the Son of God, wrapped in cloths “…and lying in a feedbox!”
In a world and in our nation of today, we must agree with the Christian group “Casting Crown’s” probing our hearts with the question: “Are we still sleeping...[and]… have no room…?” for the Messiah, in like fashion the night He was born in Bethlehem, so long ago? The question remains…have you invited Jesus to be born in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit…to grow, and live in you by the power of the Cross and His resurrection? Or, have you missed Him because you have said there is no room in the inn of your heart for Him?
This is the most important question you will ever face: one positioned between verses six and eight! To one day close your eyes in death without Christ is greatest loss of all! There is a real heaven and a real hell! What is your decision this Christmas? Room or No Room? Jesus loves YOU! He was born to die and live again, for you! (Read John 3:16-17 and I Timothy 1:15)
In the Forgiving Love of Jesus Christ,
Pastor Louie