Make Room for Jesus

“I want to be a radical, on-fire passionate follower of Jesus, the Son of the Living God, never settling for lukewarm Christianity.”

When my daughter and her husband moved, they asked if they could store a few things in our garage. But their furniture and boxes took up so much space, our car was forced onto the driveway. My garage became a clutter zone. I believe all of us struggle at times, especially at Christmas, with the clutter zone of our spiritual lives. Our lives get overtaken with presents, parties, and planning.

And while none of these things are bad, we wake up one day and realize we have no room for Jesus. In Revelation 3, the Spirit of God is speaking to a church with the same problem. They were so prosperous and doing so well that they had forgotten what was important. The apostle John, inspired by the Spirit, writes to the church of Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15–16).

Most scholars believe this church was planted by the apostle Paul. When it began, they couldn’t get enough of God. But as time went on, things normalized. Their lives were prosperous. And about 35 years in, their zeal had slowed, their passion started to ebb. I don’t know about you, but it feels like our hearts easily wander from God. It doesn’t happen fast, but we tend to drift. Sometimes we have so much stuff in our lives that it distracts us from God.

God calls to this church, and to us, saying, “Hey! You have lost room for Jesus.” Revelation 3:20 says: “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.” God wants you to open the door and invite Him into the very center. “Here I am!” In Matthew 1:23, we are told that Jesus’ name is Immanuel, “which means ‘God with us’.”

God doesn’t want to be compartmentalized to a day of the week or a holiday. He wants you to invite Him in and say, “Come, Lord Jesus. Be Lord of my life.” I want to be a radical, on-fire passionate follower of Jesus, the Son of the Living God, never settling for lukewarm Christianity. God with us! Truly, this is the heart of Christmas.