Among the most tragic words ever penned are those found in Luke’s account of the first Christmas. “There was no room for them in the inn.” There was room for merchants, tax collectors, travelers, and sightseers, but no room for the gentle Mary and the divine Christ, who was to be born that night.

An event that was destined to stir and share the universe caused little excitement in a world that was drugged with selfishness and numbed by greed. The Roman legions certainly were not interested in the advent of a tiny babe, born in a humble stable. The priests were too preoccupied with their legalistic sacrifices and ceremonies to see in Him the fulfillment of all that God had promised through the centuries. The mercenary merchant was too busy plying his wares, driving hard and profitable bargains, to turn aside and see him who was the hope of the world. What a picture of the inhospitality and indifference of the human heart. No room for the Son of God.

Mary, the young mother of the Son of God, did not have the loving care provided for most women in such circumstances. She had to be her own maid and midwife. There was no spotless sheet on which to lay her firstborn, only the straw of the manger. There were no nurses in skillful attendance; no doctors coming and going, whispering counsel to each other. There was only the lowing of the cattle and the soft breathing of the child Jesus. There was not even a cot on which to lay Him.

Earthly princes make their entrance into the world amid the comforts of lavish splendor, while their subjects await with bated breath the announcement that a prince has been born. But when Christ the Son of God came into the world, only a few humble shepherds and some Magi from the East were aware that a king had been born. He whose name is above every name, He who is the Prince of Peace, and the Prince of Heaven, was wrapped in simple rags and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

Today, after two thousand years of Christianity, there is still danger that we will be too busy this season to make room for Christ. Billions of dollars are being spent by Christmas shoppers. The stores are filled with people rushing here and there, absorbed with the business of buying gifts. People flock to holiday parties, to programs, to bazaars, to special banquets; but now, as then, there is danger that we will be too busy to make room for Him.

This Christ who came as a babe in Bethlehem to die on the cross and to rise from the grave can transform and change your life, no matter what your circumstances may be—if there is room in your heart for Him.

from Decision Magazine, “No Room in the Inn” by Billy Graham