Luke 2:6,7; “While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the Inn.”
The world can be a pretty cruel place sometimes and rejection is one of the things that many of us struggle with. It is not hard to have a rejection complex if for instance, as a child you grew up without one or even any of your parents around. Or, if you had friends that pushed you aside in favour of their own needs and desires. These events in our lives leave their mark. It’s so easy for us to just give up and quit trying when everything seems to be going against us. This fruitless path of least resistance seems to be one that we choose with peculiar regularity.
Now, on this particular night everyone was rejecting Joseph and Mary as they searched for a place for Mary to give birth. As a husband and father of two, I could only imagine the frustration and rejection I would feel if nobody would provide a place for one of my children to be born. However, this birth that Luke is talking about isn’t just any child that was going to be born, it was the Christ, the Saviour of the World; even so, rejection was not far away. Like a lion waiting for the moment to strike his prey, Satan was readying his assault. And in the midst of all the rejection of this evening, the scriptures never point out that Joseph and Mary lost control and simply decided to throw in the towel, they simply kept looking for somewhere that would accept them, rather than reject them. We must remember that the nature of this fallen planet and the evil prince that is at work here, WILL always offer us the hand of rejection rather than acceptance. It was Jesus himself that told us ‘not to be surprised when the world hates us, because the world first hated Him’. This is what we deal with every day. But, thanks to our Lord, we are more than conquerors and can accomplish all things in Christ who strengthens us.
When you find that there is ‘No Room’ for you, turn to Christ your redeemer and you will find more acceptance than you could ever imagine.
davidgoundry 