Let Him INN – Making Room for Christ in a Crowded World

No Room Inn 

Every Christmas season, we’re drawn back to the familiar story: Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem, weary from travel, only to be told, “There is no room in the inn.” The Savior of the world—the One who created the heavens and the earth—entered our world in a borrowed stable because there was no space made for Him. 

In the first century, an “inn” wasn’t the kind of roadside hotel we think of today. More likely, it was a simple guest room or lodging house, already full of travelers. Yet the point remains the same—there was no room for Christ. 

Modern Crowding Out 

That was over 2,000 years ago, but not much has changed. In Southwest Louisiana and across the world, we still have a tendency to tell God there’s “No room inn.” 

We fill our schedules so tightly that prayer gets squeezed out. We fill our calendars with school, sports, football, parades and holiday parties until Sunday worship feels optional. We fill our budgets with wants and comforts but struggle to give God our first fruits. We fill our homes with noise and busyness, leaving little space for peace and reflection. We fill our marriages and parenting with self-reliance but forget that God is the One who holds families together. We fill our minds with politics, news cycles and endless scrolling but leave little room for the eternal perspective of God’s Word. We fill our careers with ambition, chasing success, while neglecting the One who said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” 

Jesus Pushed Aside 

It wasn’t just at His birth that there was “no room.” As Jesus grew and began His ministry, the crowds pressed in so tightly around Him that Luke tells us they were “almost crushing Him” (Luke 8:42). He had to step into a boat and teach from the water just to create space. Once again, there was no room. The very One who made space for all of creation was constantly being pushed to the margins. 

The Woman Who Made Room 

But in that same crowd was a woman who refused to accept “no room” as her story. She had been bleeding for twelve years. According to the culture, she was “unclean,” forced to live on the margins, even required to announce her private condition in public spaces. She had spent all her money on doctors and empty promises, yet only grew worse. She had no more resources, no more dignity, no more hope—until Jesus came near. 

In desperation, she pressed through the crowd, pressing past cultural limitations, social shame and physical weakness, until she touched the edge of His garment. In an instant, everything changed. Jesus stopped the crowd, looked for her, and when He found her, He didn’t call her “unclean” or “outcast.” He called her “daughter.” He spoke shalom—peace, wholeness, restoration—over her life: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be whole.” 

When there was no room for her in society, she made room for Christ. And when Christ came in, He brought acceptance, beauty, dignity, healing and restoration. 

The Call for Us 

This Christmas, the message is simple: Let Him INN. 

Make room in your schedule. Make room in your conversations. Make room in your home, your priorities, your plans. 

The innkeeper missed the chance to host the Savior. The crowds nearly pushed Him out. Society tried to shut out the broken and unclean. But those who made room for Christ found life. 

This December, as the lights twinkle across Southwest Louisiana and families gather around tables, may we pause and open wide the doors of our lives to Christ. He doesn’t just want a corner of the stable or a borrowed boat—He wants the center of it all. 

Let Him INN. And watch His light fill every room.