And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. – Luke 2:7 Some Scripture verses really resonate with us. Sometimes we read a verse in the morning and later that day we see the beauty of that particular truth from God’s Word directly in our life. A couple of years ago, right before Christmas, I drove around trying to secure a hotel room for a homeless man. Maybe you’ve done this sort of thing when you are out-of-state, driving late at night. You stop and ask for a room, but find no vacancies. I was trying to get a room at an inn for this sojourner – trying to locate a good deal for a week, as he tried to get back on his feet. It’s easy to become jaded. Maybe you have given money to someone who is stuck in a rut, only to see that person digging the hole even deeper. Thanks to a team of people at church, we were helping this man to organize and prioritize. We had helped him to find a good-paying job that would start on January 3rd. I was trying to get him a room to help him make it to that date. He needed a room, he needed prayers, he needed hope, he needed a gift for his son, he needed a lot. In this fallen, broken world, sometimes we find ourselves in nearly hopeless situations. But, we need not ever be without hope, because there is hope in Jesus Christ. Christmas is a tough time to try to find a room in an inn. Ask Mary. The Westminster Shorter Catechism #27 asks, “Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?” The answer? “Christ’s humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.” The Son of God needed a room, but Bethlehem’s version of the Delta Inn & Suites was fully booked. Jesus really was born in a low condition. His parents were wandering. The best bed that these weary sojourners could find for the son whom God had entrusted to them was an animal feeding trough. That’s what a manger is – a rude wooden box caked with slop and slobber. Sure, hay is relatively soft, but it ain’t no My Pillow. Truly Jesus was born in a low condition. This Christmas, let the brokenness of this world reveal to you how Jesus Christ suffered so that we may know Him. God came to earth so that you might know Him. Suffering gives us a view into Jesus’ humiliation for us. What happened to the sojourner who needed a room? I finally found him one. We got him to the job site on January 3rd. He worked for a few days and then got COVID and stayed in his hotel room. Before long, he was out of a job, out of a room, and out on the street. Was our effort wasted? I don’t think so. We showed him hope. After a while, we did it again. Found him a job, found him a room, and helped him to get to work on time. Maybe not surprisingly, that situation didn’t last, either. Was our effort wasted a second time? I don’t think so. We showed him hope. Where is he today? Still struggling. It’s a broken world, rife with sin and pain. Maybe you can relate? Have you ever suffered from the miseries of this life? Jesus has. When he was young, Jesus was taken by His parents to sojourn in the land of Egypt, to escape the murderous, jealous Herod the Great, who sought to kill all the boys under two years of age. Please pray for the sojourners. There is hope, and that hope is that a child is born, a Son is given. This Christmas, offer them hope. “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). Yes, the world is broken. You know what it is like. Jesus knows, too. Christ was born in a low condition to give you hope. Show sojourners their only hope. If you have already shown them once, then show them again. Hasn’t God rescued you again and again to give you hope?
