Making Space – An Advent DevotionalSample

Making Space for Christ - Part 2

To get back to the guest room analogy from yesterday, before visitors arrive, our spare room gets a mini-makeover. It's like the HGTV crew came in - on a very, very low budget. Our sofa bed magically transforms into a queen bed, we re-arrange furniture, empty shelves of toys, and display accent pieces that have nothing to do with Lego Star Wars. On occasion, I even indulge in buying new curtains and flowers. Those little changes make our guests feel at home.

Sometimes we need little tweaks to nudge us closer to Christ. Rethink, re-arrange and refocus so Christ has room in your life.

I love our family tradition of singing 'Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus' on Christmas morning and having the kids cut a cake. It's a simple idea. It’s not original, and the kids will probably balk at it in a few years. But, for now, it puts the focus on Christ. And everyone gets cake.

No matter how perfectly arranged the room is, though, if we don't have a heart of love for our guests it will soon become obvious. I don't want to do what I'm doing because I have to. I do what I'm doing as a response to our friendship.

In the same vein, we can't force ourselves to make room for Christ. We simply do it in response to the Sovereign One who gave up His majesty for a manger, who traded in His Kingship for a Cross.

Is there room for Him in our hearts this Christmas? Or will we turn Him away because our lives are too cluttered to accommodate the One who gave up everything?

Prayer

Father, help me re-prioritize so that I make room for Christ this Christmas. Enable me to do so as a response to your amazing, unconditional love. Thank you for sending Jesus – the One who poured out His life for us. Amen