And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 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.” Luke 2:4–7.
The travel-worn couple arrived at the little town of Bethlehem at the end of a long and difficult journey. The arduous trip had been especially trying for the young woman, for obviously she was about to give birth to a child. Needing a shelter for the night, they made their way to the inn, only to find it filled. All the bedrooms were taken. No rooms were available. No room. The young man pled for a room, even an attic, because of the condition of his wife, but he was gruffly turned aside. No room. No room.
Business was good. Hundreds were on the roads returning to their birthplace to be counted in the Roman census. The jingle of the coins was music to the Innkeeper’s ears. The young couple? Well, too bad, but that’s the way it was. No room. It happens. That’s life. There’s just no room.
As a result, the birth of Jesus, the Incarnation, took place in the lowliest of places. “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.” Verse 7. The baby Jesus was tenderly cradled in a manger, among the donkeys and cattle, by His virgin mother. The King of Glory, the Creator of the Universe, the Promised Redeemer, made His entrance in a dirty stable.
How near to fame was the Innkeeper. The Promised Messiah could have been born in his inn! His name would have been honored for all time. But he missed his great moment. Opportunity passed him by for he did not recognize it. He had no room. No room for the Saviour of the world.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:14, 5.
Still Seeking Lodging
Today, the timeless Saviour is still seeking lodging. He comes to this earth to be born in the lives of men and women, boys and girls. You and I are each an “inn” into which Jesus seeks entrance. He never forces entrance, but patiently knocks at the door of our hearts. Have you opened the door to invite Him in? The “inn” of our heart has many rooms. We must be careful not to exclude Jesus from any of them, saying “No room!” to certain areas of our lives. He must have access to every room.
“The consecration must be entire. God will admit of no reserve, of no divided sacrifice, no idol. All must die to self, and to the world.” Our High Calling, 308.
Our Bedrooms
The Innkeeper said every bedroom was occupied. Let us think of self as the bedrooms in our inn. Selfishness, which manifests itself in a variety of ways, must die. Selfishness—I want; I need; I think; I can’t! I won’t! I have rights! I want it my way—me, me, me! So many bedrooms filled with self. Have you invited Jesus to enter into all your bedrooms, to rule over self?
“The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness.” Steps to Christ, 43.
“We must gain the victory over self, crucify the affections and lusts; and then begins the union of the soul with Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 47.
“If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong practice retained in the life, the whole being is contaminated.” The Desire of Ages, 313.
Our Living Rooms
Joseph asked for any room. What about the living room in your home? Is there room for Jesus there? Would He enjoy the television programs you are watching? Or could you let Him read the books or magazines lying around? The living room is generally reserved for special occasions, parties and such, for special guests. Would Jesus be comfortable there, if He were to drop by? Is there room for Jesus at the special occasions in your life? What about in your conversation? How about at Christmas, birthdays, vacations, family visits and outings? Do you invite Him along, or turn Him away as the Innkeeper barred the lowly carpenter and his wife?
“These [pleasures of this life] are not necessarily things sinful in themselves, but something that is made first instead of the kingdom of God. Whatever attracts the mind from God, whatever draws the affections away from Christ, is an enemy to the soul.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 53.
Our Dining Rooms
Then there is the dining room. That’s another place where we might not like to have Jesus. The table is loaded, perhaps overloaded. Are there things there that shouldn’t be? Could Jesus sit down and be pleased with what you serve and the way you eat? Is the Saviour a welcome guest at your table?
“The physical, mental, and moral powers must be kept in the most perfect condition if he would obtain the approval of God. ‘I keep under my body’ the apostle says [1 Corinthians 9:27]. This means literally to beat back its desires and impulses and passions by severe discipline, even as did those competing for an earthly prize.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1089.
“All habits of indulgence that weaken the physical powers, that becloud the mind, or that benumb the spiritual perceptions, are ‘fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.’ 1 Peter 2:11.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 53.
“Your thoughts, your words, and your actions, as well as your appetites and passions, must be brought into subjection to the will of God.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 538.
Our Kitchens
Surely there must be room in the kitchen. Or are we like Martha of old, too cumbered with serving? We can be so busy doing good things for the Lord, things which seem so necessary, that there is no room for Him in the kitchen. Remember our Lord’s words: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41, 42. How easy it is to become so busy that we have no room for Jesus.
“We must establish an unyielding enmity between our souls and our foe; but we must open our hearts to the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. We want Satan’s darkness to be shut out, and the light of Heaven to flow in. We want to become so sensitive to holy influences, that the lightest whisper of Jesus will move our souls . . . .” The Signs of the Times, March 23, 1888.
Our Attics
Many homes have attics. Attics are cluttered with our castoffs, with things we no longer use. How easy it is to let the attic of our personal life retain the accumulation of the past wrongs, of personal grievances and bygone failures. Too often, instead of cleaning out the attic, the old stuff just gets reshuffled to another corner—too many comfortable, familiar things we want to hang on to. Our attic can become so full that there is no room for the only One who can cleanse the area of all messy disarray.
“The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature.” The Desire of Ages, 172.
“The old nature, born of blood and the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists of having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are begotten unto a new life by the Holy Spirit, have become partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and practices they will give evidence of their relationship to Christ.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1101.
“Many are sensible of their great deficiency, and they read, and pray, and resolve, and yet make no progress. They seem to be powerless to resist temptation. The reason is, they do not go deep enough. They do not seek for a thorough conversion of the soul, that the streams which issue from it may be pure, and the deportment may testify that Christ reigns within. All defects of character originate in the heart. Pride, vanity, evil temper, and covetousness proceed from the carnal heart unrenewed by the grace of Christ.” Our High Calling, 336.
“When souls are converted, their salvation is not yet accomplished. They then have the race to run; the arduous struggle is before them to ‘fight the good fight of faith.’ . . . The battle is lifelong, and must be carried forward with determined energy proportionate to the value of the object you are in pursuit of, which is eternal life.” Ibid., 163.
“Each day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ’s strength for victory.” The Acts of the Apostles, 477.
Our Basements
And how is your basement? Some people do all their living in the basement. Their thoughts, words, and deeds are always on such a low level that there is no desire, no room, to read their Bible, or to do kind things for other people, to speak a kind word. No room, no place for the King of Glory to speak to them.
“The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they are buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1075.
“The lower passions have their seat in the body and work through it. The words ‘flesh’ or ‘fleshly’ or ‘carnal lusts’ embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No; but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ. All animal propensities are to be subjected to the higher powers of the soul. The love of God must reign supreme; Christ must occupy an undivided throne.” The Adventist Home, 127, 128.
” ‘To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey’ [Romans 6:16]. If we indulge anger, lust, covetousness, hatred, selfishness or any other sin, we become servants of sin. ‘No man can serve two masters’ [Matthew 6:24]. If we serve sin, we cannot serve Christ. The Christian will feel the promptings of sin, for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit; but the Spirit striveth against the flesh, keeping up a constant warfare. Here is where Christ’s help is needed. Human weakness becomes united to divine strength, and faith exclaims, ‘Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!’ [1 Corinthians 15:57].” Messages to Young People, 114.
“The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.” The Desire of Ages, 555, 556.
“Even your thoughts must be brought into subjection to the will of God and your feelings under the control of reason and religion. . . . If the thoughts are wrong the feelings will be wrong, and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 310.
“The eye is the sensitive conscience, the inner light, of the mind. Upon its correct view of things the spiritual healthfulness of the whole soul and being depends. The ‘eyesalve,’ the word of God, makes the conscience smart under its application; for it convicts of sin. But the smarting is necessary that the healing may follow, and the eye be single to the glory of God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 965.
Suitable Place for Him
Jesus was born in Bethlehem’s stable that night many years ago. The only place available to Him was a lowly manger. The only suitable place should have been Bethlehem’s best inn. But He was denied that.
“It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not cooperate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place . . . . We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.” The Desire of Ages, 324.
There is only one suitable place for Jesus today. Give Him the best. Open the “inn” of your heart. He stands at the door and knocks today. (See Revelation 3:20.) Will you let Him in? Don’t drive Him away with the cold words, “No room; not now, I’m too busy; I can’t.”
“Oh, why does not the church of Christ arise, and put on her beautiful garments! Why does she not shine? The great reason of such feeble Christianity is that those who claim to believe the truth have so little knowledge of Christ, and so low an estimate of what He will be to them, and what they may be to Him. We have the most solemn, weighty truths ever committed to mortals.
“Were our words, our thoughts, our actions, more pure and elevated, more in accordance with the holy faith we profess, we should view our responsibilities in a far different light. How solemn, how sacred, they would appear! We would have a deeper sense of our obligations, and should make it our constant aim to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Earthly, temporal things would be subordinate to the heavenly and eternal.” This Day With God, 17.
Our Prayer
“Our heavenly Father, we come to Thee this morning just as we are, needy and wholly dependent upon Thee. Help us to have a clear knowledge of what we must be, and of the characters that we must form, in order that we may be prepared to unite with the heavenly family in the city of our God. We ask Thee that Thou wilt remove the reproach that has come upon Thee through the neglect of those who profess to be Thy people, but who have not walked in Thy counsel. Lord, Help us to understand our individual responsibilities, that our hearts may be worked by the Holy Spirit. We ask Thee that Thou wilt open blind eyes, that they may see; to enlighten the darkened understanding, that all may understand that there must be a reconversion, that hearts must break before God. Give us hearts of repentance, hearts of humiliation. O my Father, how can we proclaim Thy goodness, and Thy mercy, and Thy love, unless we cherish them in our own hearts, and reveal them in our own experiences? Thou knowest how Thou hast presented this matter to Thy servant. Thou knowest what a dishonor it has been to Thee because Thy people have failed to come to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and to obey Thy commandments.
“Let not Thy wrath come upon Thy people while they are in their sins, unconverted and unsaved. . . . May the sanctification of the Spirit come to them. May there be a purifying of character and a breaking of heart before God. . . .
“Oh, pardon our transgressions, and forgive our sins! Show us where we have come short. Let Thy Holy Spirit descend upon us. . . . We desire to be weighted down with the Holy Spirit. We desire to stand where Thou canst reveal Thyself to us. Take away our hardness of heart, and give us softened hearts. I ask Thee, for Christ’s sake, that Thou wouldst give understanding, that Thou wouldst give spiritual knowledge, that Thou wouldst give sensitive hearts, that all may see that it is high time to open the door of the heart to Jesus. Thou hast said that Thou hast heard the many words of complaint, and faultfinding, and murmuring, brother against brother, and friend against friend. Thou hast heard these words, and they are written in Thy book. They have stood as a block against the wheel of salvation, hindering its advancement. Convert Thy people in this the day of Thy preparation, that the time may not come when they will say, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.’
“Thou hast opened these things before me, and Thou alone canst prepare minds and hearts to hear the message that unless those who have left their first love shall return to recognize the work that needs to be done in their individual hearts, Thou wilt come quickly and remove the candlestick out of his place. Open the eyes of Thy people that they may see their deficiencies. We do not want one to be separated from the work. We do not want one to perish. We ask Thee that Thou wilt move upon hearts by the quickening influence of Thy Spirit . . . .
“We must be reconverted, sanctified, and made fit to bear the message of the Lord. Cleanse the vessel, that the message that shall be given shall not taste so strongly of the dish that those to whom it is given shall have no appetite to partake of it. Let Thy melting mercy come upon us. Work in the midst of us with Thy power and with Thy love and with Thy majesty and glory. Put to shame the listlessness of those who have not come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty [Judges 5:23]. Sweep back the cloud of darkness and unbelief. Let the Holy Spirit come into our hearts and break down every barrier. Thou King of glory, look upon Thy people in these closing scenes of this earth’s history. It seems as if nothing could arouse many of them to realize that they are on the very eve of the day of God, that His judgments are in the land.
“Wilt Thou hear our petition! Wilt Thou answer our petition! Wilt Thou reveal Thyself to us! May we behold Thy glory, and be changed into Thine image. We thirst for the waters of Lebanon, and we hunger for the bread of life. We ask Thee to break our hearts today. We ask Thee to help us to put away our sinful thoughts, our disparagement of one another, and to seek the Lord while He may be found. . . . May the Spirit of God come in; and Thy blessed name shall have all the glory. Amen. [Offered by Ellen White, Tuesday Morning, March 31, 1903.]” General Conference Bulletin, April 2, 1903.
This prayer was offered at a time that Mrs. White would later recount as one of the darkest periods of her life. The Conference brethren had rejected God’s expressed will concerning the organization and government of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. By selecting a man to rule over them, they had formally rejected God as their King. They felt no need, “no room,” in their worldly wisdom to obey God’s entreaty.
Though the pages of the calendar have passed along for almost 100 years, spiritually speaking it seems we are no closer home than were they. But this prayer, so humbly imploring God’s intervening presence, can still be answered. In fact, it will be answered—but not by the majority. Only those who choose God as their King will find the unity that Jesus desired for His disciples in John 17: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: . . . I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one . . . .” Verses 21, 23.
Today, only those who make room for Jesus, serving Him daily, moment by moment, with an undivided heart, will enter into that perfect unity. That hand of entreaty is still extended to you right now—but you do not know for how long. One day, very soon, the ransomed of the Lord will see the glorious city and the mansions He has prepared for those who love Him! Friend, pray that on that day you do not hear the words “No room”!