Where is Baby Jesus? Making Room for Him at Christmas

I thought I would get a head start on my Christmas decorating. I usually wait until the beginning of the 2nd week of December to put up my tree and adorn the rest of the house. However, my sister had her tree up the week of Thanksgiving and I was inspired!

So, I went to the basement and lugged up some of the decorations, to include the manger scene all tucked away in its box. After the tree was trimmed, I began to unwrap the nativity set. One by one I carefully took the newspaper off the pieces and placed them in the stable-like structure.

However, when I went to take the last piece out of the box, it was an angel. I had Mary and Joseph, 2 shepherds, an ox, 2 sheep, a donkey and an angel. I even had the star…but where was baby Jesus?

I went back downstairs and searched the other bags and boxes. No luck. I came back upstairs and rifled through all those boxes. I still couldn’t find Him! I felt panicky! How could I lose baby Jesus? The most important figure in my manger scene! There it sat… the nativity I’d had for years. Everyone was in their place, including the animals. Yet, there was no baby Jesus!

If the truth be known, I think a lot of us can’t locate Jesus in our Christmas plans. We have everything in place, but somehow, Jesus is missing. The gifts, the food, the decorations…it’s all there. But where is Jesus?

Who can blame us, really? I mean, there is so much to do and so little time, right? Who else but us is going to do all that cooking? Who else but us is going to do all the gift buying and wrapping? Who else but us is going to do all the decorating? Not to mention, social media, actually all media, appears to be created to pull us away from Jesus. Grey Thursday, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Buy Local Saturday…makes my head spin!

Let’s think back on that holy night so long ago. There was no room for Jesus at the inn. There was no room for the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. No room for the Messiah! From the beginning, people have struggled with making room for Jesus.

How about you? Is your life so busy this time of year you have no room for Him?

I realize it can be easy to lose sight of Jesus during the holidays. But guess what! He never loses sight of us. He always has room for us. He’s never too caught up in what’s going on in the world to take care of us.

We will experience His peace, when we choose to make room for Him.

Joy and abiding love are ours, when He’s not missing in our plans.

Salvation and eternal life are His gifts to us, when He becomes the priority in our lives.

And that is something to rejoice about! Rejoicing in the true meaning of Christmas…Jesus Christ.

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding
their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among
them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were
terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring
you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the
Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped
snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of
heaven – praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom
God is pleased.”

Where is baby Jesus? Over 2,000 years ago, He was right there under their noses, but they had no room for Him. What about you? Do you know where He is? I pray He is in your heart. Find Him. You’ll never have a true Christmas if you don’t.