Let Jesus in

Christmas has come and gone in the blink of an eye once again. Over the next few days we will be saying goodbye to 2015, and hello to a new year. Talk of fresh starts, resolutions, and "New Year, new me" have already begun.

Although Christmas is over, I find myself looking towards the New Year with a passage from the famous Christmas story still ringing in my ears.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Mary, Joseph, and little baby Jesus. A story we're all so familiar with. Mary and Joseph come to the town of Bethlehem, and they're looking for a place to stay as Mary is needing to give birth. They arrive at the inn, and they knock on the door...

Sorry, we've no room.

You've got to go some place else. 

We just can't fit you in right now.

This isn't just a story happening a thousand years ago. This is a story that happens every day. Today. Jesus is knocking at the door. He wants to be a part of our lives; to come in and live with us.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

But don't be fooled into thinking that this message isn't for you if you're already a Christian. In fact, I think this story speaks to me more now as someone who's been following Christ for 7 years. 7 years, and I still tell Jesus that I can't fit Him in right now. 

It's worth thinking about. From day to day, week to week, even throughout the year, do you fit Jesus in? Do you even bother letting Jesus in at all? Is He crammed in on a Sunday morning, if He's lucky, or is little baby Jesus squeezed in on Christmas day and that's all? 

As a serious follower of Christ, I read this passage and it hurts. Because I know that although my relationship with Jesus should be top of my priorities, it isn't. I know that when I give time to God, I am just fitting Him in where it suits me.

As I look to 2016, that's the challenge. To let Jesus in. To make Him the centre of the not only the year, but of every day in 2016. It's one thing to let Jesus in the front door, but will you let Him into every other part of your house too?

Will you send Jesus some place else? Or will you let Jesus in?