Innkeeper

“Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, He has spoken to us through the Son, whom He made heir of all things and through whom He created the universe, ​who is the refulgence of His glory, ​​the very imprint of His being, ​and who sustains all things by His mighty word.” Hebrews 1:1-6

Sometimes it feels to me as if God wanders about our world like an itinerant beggar. After all, He said in Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” And there are many many people around the world today who are hungry, abused, and lost. 

In more and more places, God is unwanted, ignored, even reviled. It used to be that prayer was welcomed in schools and offices. Now in some parts of the world, we will be labeled politically incorrect if we openly practice it. The ultimate basis for Christian ethics is the moral character of God. Without the Word of God as a foundation, we flounder. We lose our anchor as a nation, as a community, as a thinking person. 

On this day when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, let us find a place for Him and His Word in our hearts. It is said that each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus. Let us empty our hearts and minds of all those ideas that are not of God and find space for His glorious light. He wants to show us not only that we are loved, but that our lives have meaning and purpose. And He also wants us to reach out to the least of our brothers and sisters, to reveal to them their lives matter to Him and to us.