The Innkeeper

This has been a year full of challenges and blessings, and being able to share with you all the things the Lord has been teaching me has been one of the greatest blessings. There is no greater joy for a teacher than to teach, and there is no greater blessing than being able to share the truth of God’s Word. And this morning I want to close out this year as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord with a reminder for us all.

We are all so familiar with the telling of the birth of our Lord and all those who were involved; Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the angels, the three wise men. But I wonder if we haven’t left someone out of our thoughts, someone who is very much like us… the Innkeeper. He is always cast as somewhat of a greedy villain who only wants to generate more money by renting out his stable. But perhaps we have misjudged him. He’s a lot like most of us… not bad, just “busy.”

I am very confident that you, like me, can identify with that. In the season when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we get so busy with Christmas cards and gifts, with year-end matters, shopping, cooking, and dozens of other pressing issues that we “make no room” in our lives for the most important guest of all. Like the innkeeper, we’re not villains; we’re just too preoccupied and bothered by too many other things.

I know I am constantly reminding myself to be more like the shepherds than the innkeeper, and to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and He deserves the best room in the house.

Merry Christmas and blessings to you and your families… you are ever in our prayers

Tom and Diane Mitchell