and 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. - Luke 2:7
No Place for the King!
When the time came for Mary to be delivered of her pregnancy, she had made the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a distance of about 100 kilometres, to be registered for the census ordered by Augustus Caesar.
The greatest miracle in the history of the world was the birth of the eternal Son of God as man. The event of his birth happened quietly in a stable. Many people had returned to the little village of Bethlehem for the census, so Joseph could not get a place to lodge or a decent place for the wife to be delivered.
The hustle and bustle of life was going on all around and no one could give up their space for the young woman in labour to give birth. The king of the world was delivered in a stable. No news associated with royal births to announce the birth of the King of Glory -he was born in a manger not a mansion.
The stable pictures his rejection. The inn had space for businesses, the inn had space for pleasures, the inn had space for others to lodge but no space for the King to be born.
The stable where Jesus was born pictures his reachability. He is very available and reachable to all (John 6:37).
Just like there was no place for Jesus at the inn, many hearts today do not have a place for him. The Christmas story is to bring many to the stable to see Jesus. Just like the Shepherds announced his birth when the angels told them, the message of Christmas, the message of the birth of the King, must continue to ring out with love to as many hearts as have not created space for him.
Let there be a place for the King in our hearts and in our homes. It is then that Christmas and the joy it offers the world can be celebrated in full.