We Are the Innkeeper in the Christmas Story

I was in the kitchen talking to my dad the other day when he mentioned he had another book idea for me to write.

After he told me, I wasn’t sure I could turn it into a book (but hey, maybe one day I will). But I knew it could be a blog post because it was pretty profound. So, shoutout to my amazing dad for giving me this idea and allowing me to dive deeper into this idea.

I think most people, whether or not they grew up in the church, are familiar with the Christmas story: Jesus being born in a manger because there were no rooms. We see it everywhere: in our nativity scenes, Christmas sermons, Christmas music.

But I hadn’t realized how much that scene is a prophetic truth about us and our nature until my dad pointed this out to me.

When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, she and Joseph traveled a long way to the town of Bethlehem to register for a census. While they were there, it came time for the baby to born. Joseph went and knocked on the inn and the innkeeper said, “Sorry, there’s no room in the inn.”

How often is that us to God?

God comes knocking on our hearts, and we simply tell Him, “Sorry there’s no room in here for you.” Just like there was no room for the King of Kings to be born in. Instead he was placed “in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.”

And sometimes we don’t even realize or mean to tell God this. Sometimes “there’s no room for you” looks like just not answering God’s call, not wanting to rearrange what our heart is already filled with, or still running after our desires, living for ourselves.

I can’t help but think about how the innkeeper could’ve not answered the door, rather than answering and telling Mary and Joseph that there was no room. And once again, I think that is a picture of us. More often than not we aren’t ignoring God’s knock on our heart, asking us to open up our lives to Him, but rather we answer, acknowledge God asking, and then choose to not make the room.

Because we don’t have time. Because we’re just really busy. Because life is crazy. Because we like our comfortable and convenient life exactly the way it is. Because we like control.

Because we aren’t putting God on the throne of our hearts, there is no room for God in our hearts. Or at least not the proper room. You see, the innkeeper didn’t completely kick Mary and Joseph (and soon to be born Jesus) out, he brought them around back to the stables where the animals were. Because there was no room in the heart of the place.

When we don’t put God on the throne of our hearts but rather give a place in the back or the corner, we’re still telling God that there is no room for Him. God is not meant to pushed aside for something else, nor were we created to have God only be part of our lives.

My pastor uses the analogy of an ice cube tray. We often try to put God in a single ice cube compartment or say okay God you can have control over these 3 slots only. When in reality God is the entire ice cube tray — holding our whole life together.

When God isn’t the ice cube tray, something else is. In other words, we’re looking to something or someone else to do what only God can do. So, when God isn’t on the throne of our hearts, that means something else is. We’re choosing to make room for something else other than God, and that’s why there is no room available for Him.

But Exodus 20:3 clearly states, “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Telling God that there is no room because we are choosing to place other things above Him in our heart (relationships, comfort and convenience, jobs, desires of the flesh, our plans, etc.), is idolatry. It’s placing something else as “god” before God himself.

And that’s what makes the story of Jesus’ birth that much more amazing and beautiful and profound. That Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room, so that He could die on the cross for us who make no room for Him. Christ died knowing that some of the people He died for would never make room in their hearts for Him. And He did it anyway.

We may be the innkeeper in the Christmas story, but thanks be to God that our story isn’t over.

Just seven verses later in Luke 2, the angels appear to the shepherds and say “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

On whom does God’s favor rest? On those who receive His grace (see John 1:12, Ephesians 2:8-9).

For those who do choose to receive, God gives them peace; for peace is simply the presence of God. Because of Jesus, we have access to the presence of God. Because of Jesus, we have peace.

We may start out as the innkeeper, but we don’t have to stay that way. We don’t have to keep running to anything and everything else to try to find healing for our hearts and peace for ourselves. We don’t have to continue filling the rooms of our hearts with the chaos of this world.

We can choose to answer the knock, acknowledge God asking, and then make the proper room for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our hearts and in our lives.

We can do all of this because of Jesus. We have a choice because He made the choice to make a way. For peace, light, life, hope, joy.

So, my question for you right now is this: Do you hear God’s knock? And if so, what are you going to do about it?