Seeking Jesus This Christmas- Day 9: Dec 9 | The Stable and the Innkeeper, the Unlikely Host

​Read: Luke 2:1-7

Key Verse: “And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” (Luke 2:6-7)

Have you ever wondered why God didn’t make a room for Mary and Joseph? Just stop and think about it for a minute. If you were the innkeeper, would you try to find some small space within the building? These are questions we are probably asking ourselves. What we know from scripture is that Mary and Joseph were rejected everywhere they went due to there being no more room in the inn. And the innkeeper still said no even though they can clearly see that Mary was ready to give birth.

Why was Jesus born in a stable instead of in someplace impressive, like a palace? Or even a regular room in a home?

You can be confident that God was in control of every detail of Jesus’ birth—including where He would be born, and to whom. And you also can be confident that it was God’s will for His Son to be born in a stable instead of a palace.

Why was this? One reason is because God wanted to show us that Jesus Christ came to bring salvation to everyone—not just the rich and powerful, but the poor and downtrodden. God’s love extends to the whole human race! And Jesus showed us the depth of God’s love by willingly leaving Heaven’s glory and sharing in our poverty. The Bible says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

In addition, because He was born into a poor family, we know that Jesus understands what it means to be poor—as almost everyone was then, and still is in most parts of the world. He also understands the temptations and sorrows we all face, and He knows too the fear and guilt that trouble our souls. As the Bible says, Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

The real question, however, is this: Have you paid attention to Jesus? What place does He have in your life?

Pray: Lord, thank you for stories like this of the innkeeper that show us how the way we behave in all circumstances can have eternal consequences. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear you at work in and around us each and every day. May we not push you away because we have “too much to do;” may we always place you as the main focus in our lives.