“…that your son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself.”
There are times when God’s presence just comes crashing through our day to day lives, yet I think more often God’s presence gets squeezed out by the rush of our lives. So, how do we open our lives more fully and create space so that God has room to live in us, perhaps nit in a mansion, but at least in a room or two?
It’s like an over stuffed house. From time to time we need to un-clutter and box things up and get them out the door to the recycling center, to the library, to the next generation or to the dump. So, how do we un-stuff our hearts?
How do we create more space for God in our lives? I think hope creates space for God to enter into our lives more fully. Hope expands our lives beyond the current, beyond the status quo. Hope gives us the energy and the ability to change, not just for the better, but for the Holy, for the Godly, for the Kingdom of God to come more completely to earth.
Mary and Joseph found no place to stay in Nazareth, no place with family in Bethlehem, and no room in the inn. They found no welcome space for the hopes and dreams they were carrying into the world. Yet, they endured and somehow found room in a stable, among the animal kingdom, and birthed Jesus for us all.
They kept their hope alive in challenging circumstances and so must we.
