Valerie Rae Hanneman
Luke 2:7 (King James Version) “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
When I was a child all I wanted to be was a grown-up. What freedom grown-ups had! The ability to do – and be - whatever you wanted! I was going to be a movie star, a jet plane pilot, a rock star, a writer, a President, an artist. I was going to change the world! But I didn’t. What I did do is find out that being a grown-up is largely overrated as I ended up living a life of mediocrity. I wasn’t living the American dream – I was being crushed by the daily grind. Every day I got up, went to work, paid my bills, loved my kids and went to bed. The next day I got up, went to work, paid my bills, loved my kids and went to bed. The next day I did it again – and again – and again. There was nothing particularly wrong with my life but there wasn’t anything particularly right with it either. It was an everyday – ain’t never gonna be a rock star – life. And inside of my heart was an empty space. It was an empty space that cried out to me, “There must be more than this! There must be a purpose for your life!” But I knew I wasn’t going to change the world – empty space or not. I was just one more empty space in a sea of empty spaces.
The innkeeper understood a life of mediocrity. Everyday he and his wife were up long before his guests. They cooked and cleaned. They ran to the market and mucked out the stables. They met their guests’ demands. Only after all the guests were asleep, and the demands had ceased, did they fall into their bed. The next day they would get up and do it again. They didn’t see the amount of traffic of Jerusalem, but it was enough to keep them busy. Gone were the dreams of younger years of maybe making it out of Bethlehem and making a mark in the world. Now their world was meals to be cooked, rooms to be cleaned and animals to be fed. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with their lives but there wasn’t anything particularly right with it either. There was an empty space within their hearts that said, “There must be more than this – there must be a purpose.” But the voice was overrun by the work of an everyday – ain’t gonna be a rock star – life.
But things weren’t everyday right now! That cursed Cesar Augustus had declared that a census was to take place and that every person had to travel to the city of their birth. Bethlehem – normally a quiet place – was teaming with people! All of the line of David had to come to Bethlehem – and David – bless his heart - had created a lot of lines when he was King. The innkeeper had people crammed into every room – why some of them were even sleeping in the common room – and still they kept coming to the door to ask for lodging. He couldn’t take any more guests even if he had the room! The guests he had were incessant with their demands. If that whiney-mouthed woman upstairs sent down one more demand by her cowering husband he was ….he was…well, he was not going to be responsible for his actions!
And now, another couple is here before him. They’re sure not much to look at. His hands are broad and scarred – the hands of a man who uses his hands to make a living. She is pretty in a backwater sort of way – and my goodness! Isn’t she pregnant! She looks like she is going to pop any day now. Maybe if they were wealthy or had some social standing he might be able to squeeze them in somewhere, but they are just a couple of peasants. They are not going to change his world. But he is not a man without compassion (or the eye for a quick buck!) For a small fee he will send them out to the stable, better there then in the streets! It might not smell the greatest but at least it is warm. As he makes the offer and takes the money, a spasm of pain crosses the woman’s face. He realizes that “any day now” is right now! For just a moment the innkeeper considers giving them his room for the sake of the baby – but then the demands of his everyday life pulls him back. As he turns to deal with that woman’s husband he sees the couple headed for the stable. The flash of guilt he feels quickly disappears. After all, it isn’t like this baby is going to save him.
But the innkeeper was wrong. The reason that this Baby is coming is to save him. The Baby would have filled the empty space in his heart with joy. He would have given his life the greatest purpose of all – to serve the King of kings and LORD of lords. Had he chosen the Baby, the innkeeper would have changed not only his world but also the kingdom of God. His life of mediocrity would have been transformed into the greatest adventure of all.
How do I know how the Baby would have changed the innkeeper? Because that is how Jesus changed me.
If Jesus had just saved me, it would have been enough. Truly, it is much more than I deserve. But although it was the greatest thing He did for me, my salvation was only the first thing He did for me. I used to wake up to another day, now I wake up to a new day. The old daily grind is now a dance of life. He has shown me who I am, whose I am, and why I am. He has shown me the purpose – the meaning – of my life and it is sweet. No longer am I one more empty space is a sea of empty spaces. I am a child of God, the daughter of the King, part of an extraordinary Kingdom that fills time and space and I am joy.
The innkeeper had everything he longed for in front of him, but he didn’t see it because he could not see past his everyday life.
Jesus still stands in front of us, offering every dream fulfilled, every empty space filled. Don’t look past Him.
LORD Jesus, how can I ever thank You for how You have made my life a thing of beauty and a song of joy. Help me to see You more clearly, to follow closer to You and to love You more fully with my heart and with my life.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at Valerie@fresnofirst.org
Posted by Valerie at December 8, 2006 12:55 PM