Christ in Christmas

Do you know that every day, we are faced with the choice of becoming true history-makers but we often fail? We fail, not because we don’t want our names to go down the sand of time as notable and distinguished people. We fail, because the opportunities to be history-makers often present themselves as ordinary situations, unworthy of our second glance. One man in history was faced with the greatest opportunity of all time to graft his name into the Kingdom’s hall of fame, but he failed woefully. This man was the innkeeper of Bethlehem.

One day, over two thousand years ago, this nameless man had a grand establishment: an inn. His inn was probably one of the best in Bethlehem at the time and business was booming. Business was good because the reigning emperor, Caesar Augustus, had just made a decree that everybody in the world should go back to their hometowns to be counted. It was a worldwide census and everyone that was not in his/her hometown left his/her present location in obedience to the decree. Suddenly, sleepy Bethlehem teemed with people who had left town many years ago in search of greener pastures and this innkeeper had more than enough customers to cater for. His inn was full of people. During this mass relocation, a poor and tired couple visited his inn and begged him for a place to sleep. ‘We don’t want any of your five-star rooms,’ they pleaded. ‘Just give us a small room so that we can lay our tired heads.’ They said.

The man’s wife was heavy with child and she looked as if she would deliver her baby that very moment. The innkeeper looked at them with pity. He could let them have his own room but he refused to listen to that silent voice asking him to look beyond the outward appearance of the couple. In his mind, he reasoned that they couldn’t even afford the smallest of his rooms and he was certainly not ready to extend his arms of kindness to such poor fellows when others that could pay him immediately were on their way. Mustering the saddest look he could offer, he told them that his inn was already full and watched as they walked sadly away. Thinking that he had just saved himself some coins by reserving whatever room he had for wealthier guests, he did not know that he had just turned his Creator away. He blew away his chance of making real history because he wanted immediate wealth.

Often, many people are like this innkeeper. They choose the temporary pleasures of the world to the real pleasure of life: Jesus Christ. They prefer the noise and false lights of a depraved world to the real light of the world, Jesus. And in this season of Christmas when people invest in new clothes, well-decorated houses and every other thing that will fade away with time, Jesus is calling you to make room for him. The innkeeper might have been a religious Jew, always going to the synagogue and even paying his tithes regularly, but he missed God because he was blind. He missed God because he was not sensitive enough to know the time of his visitation.

Beloved, if you haven’t met the Lord Jesus personally, this is the season to do so. Christmas is all about Christ, not about the drinks, foods and merriments. It is about one of the greatest events in the history of mankind: God becoming a man. It is about the relentless love of the King of Kings and how this love made Him leave His comfortable abode in heaven to be born in the lowliest of all places because of you. Yes, God had you in mind when He left His throne, grandeur and magnificence to come to the earth. He had you in mind when He stayed in the womb of His creation, Mary, and was born among smelly animals. He had you in mind when He took the shame of mankind upon Himself on the cross and suffered the brutal death of crucifixion. He had you, yes you, in mind when He rose again on the third day.

Today, I implore you not to be like the innkeeper who shut the door of his house against God. I ask you to open your heart wide like the door of that lowly manger where our Lord Jesus was born. He seeks you because He wants to give you a rich and satisfying life.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10b NLT.

Don’t slam the door of your soul against Him. Just like the innkeeper, you have the chance to become a history-maker. True history-makers are those who open the doors of their hearts for Jesus to come in. They are those who walk with God in a corrupt and depraved world. They are those who identify themselves with Jesus and refuse to allow the world to define them. Life is too short to keep chasing shadows and unimportant things. Perhaps, the innkeeper made some money from his customers. Maybe he even built more inns with the money he got. Nobody knows and nobody cares because he will always be remembered as the man who had the opportunity to allow Jesus in but who chose to turn Jesus away. Don’t be like him. Give your life to Jesus today.

If you would love to open the door of your heart to Jesus, kindly say this prayer:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. Like the innkeeper, I have shut the door of my heart against you in the past but now, I repent. I open the door of my heart and I let You in. Come and sit on the throne of my heart. Come and be my saviour and Lord. I want to live for You now and always. Thank You for coming into my heart. Thank You for making me a new person. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now born again. Kindly reach out to the number/email address below if you made that glorious decision.

God bless you.

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