Posts Tagged: Luke 2:7

“MAKING ROOM FOR JESUS IN THE BARN AND EVERYWHERE ELSE”

On May 13, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“She [i.e., Mary] gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” (Luke 2:7, New Living Translation)

 

Jesus was born in a barn.  That always strikes me as significant.  I grew up on a farm, and I can say this with no hesitation: Barns are not pleasant, sanitary places.

It is comforting that the savior of the world was born in a barn.  He was humble from the get-go, and was willing to hang around the nasty places.  I have quite a few nasty places in my own heart and mind.  You?

However, the problem is that I tend to make room for Jesus only in my nasty places.  I invite Jesus into my barn—my problems and sins—and only reluctantly even there.  I only trust God when my back is against the wall and all other alternatives have been exhausted.

What would happen if I gave Jesus a better reception?  What if I gave him permission to roam through the whole of me?  What if I invited Jesus into my decisions before I made them, into my actions, into my feelings, into my everyday, routine life?

Don’t get me wrong.  It is a wonderful thing to think of God dwelling in our messiness.  But maybe, just maybe, God wants to do that and be intimately involved with our pre-messiness as well.  Perhaps if we allowed God in Christ to rule our entire beings, our lives might be less “barnish,” and more of a pleasant place for everyone (including ourselves) to dwell in.

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