Editorial December 19, 1994 Issue

Making room for Christ—at Christmastime

Mary Metzner Trammell

The world has rarely wanted to make room for the Christ. Not today, and not two thousand years ago. That's when a man named Jesus brought such saving love to the world that people called him "Jesus Christ." But when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town gave him a cold reception. The local inn turned Jesus' family away, "because there was no room for them" (Luke 2:7). So Jesus' mother, Mary, had to give birth in a stable. And the Saviour of humanity, hailed by the angel of God as "Christ the Lord" (verse 11), spent his first earthly hours in a feed box.

For the most part, the crowds of people visiting Bethlehem to pay their taxes were oblivious to the Messiah's birth. They didn't notice the wondrous phenomena that heralded his arrival—the luminous star that settled over the stable where the baby lay, and the chorus of angels that sang out the good news in the countryside.

Yet holy men from great distances did see the star. And some nearby shepherds heard the angels' song. These were shepherds with humble, open hearts—people used to watching and listening, sometimes all night long, for God's messages. When they heard about the Saviour's birth, they came instantly to worship him. And they left "glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen" (Luke 2:20).

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