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Make Room

By Rebecca Hamilton|2019-12-16T06:45:05-05:00December 16th, 2019|Advent, Women at the Cross|

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

When I was growing up, my family attended a small rural church set off the road between fields of cotton and corn. Children were not of great quantity when it came time to do our yearly Christmas pageant. Costumes for the pageant were carefully stored and reused every Christmas for decades. I cannot really count how many times I was Gabriel or Mary. You sort of lose track over time, but there is something I will not forget. The words of Luke 1 and 2 are forever imprinted in my mind.

I cannot read Luke’s account of the birth of Christ without the memories flooding back of wearing white wings and a tinsel halo. I can vividly see the red carpet of the church, the greenery and candles carefully placed, and the wood lectern of that small space.

The coveted roles each year for girls were Gabriel or Mary. The boys were not too keen on donning Gabriel’s wings and halo when they could instead wear bathrobes, burlap and carry a stick as a shepherd or a crown as a wiseman!

As a child and teenager, I really wanted to be Mary because of the gorgeous blue velvet head covering. I am not kidding! I can still see the beautiful blue cloth that I thought would look fabulous with my blonde hair. I wanted to look good with blue velvet or a tinsel halo, but I didn’t want to BE Mary – His servant.

I didn’t make room in my heart for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I didn’t want to live the words spoken by Mary-

“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.”

I was living like the innkeeper and not the Blessed Mother. I had no room for Jesus – only my brief appearance once a year in the Christmas pageant. There was no space in my heart for the true meaning of Christmas. There was no place for Him. There was a place for the appearance of looking good for others, but there was no place for the Savior to change me from sinner to servant.

Over the years, my faith and understanding grew and provided fertile ground for the seeds planted as child when I was memorizing Luke 1 and 2. I may already have played Mary in the Christmas pageant a time or two, but now I want to be like her. I want to follow her lead as a daughter of the King – “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.”

I don’t want to be someone playing the coveted role of Mary in a Christmas pageant anymore; I want to be like Mary every single day of my life.

Lord, I, Rebecca, am Your servant.

Last week at the CrossPoint services, the worship team sang a song by Casting Crowns about making room in our hearts for Jesus.

Is there room in your heart

For God to write His story

You can come as you are

But it may set you apart

When you make room in your heart

And trade your dreams for His glory

Make room in your heart

How about you? Have you made room in your heart for Jesus? Are you ready to move from looking good and playing the part to living it and being set apart?

Lord God, Savior and King,
I pray for us all to make room this Christmas for Jesus. Open our eyes to see You more clearly and to truly be set apart as Your servants in this dark and fallen world. May we shine brightly this Christmas and radiate with the joy of our salvation. We are your servants, Lord. When we are with family and friends this season help us to draw others to You not through our words alone, but through our lives as living members of Your Body. Jesus, You are the reason we have hope. You are the reason we can sing this Christmas and every single moment of our lives. May we shine Your light. Amen and Amen.