Have We Made Room For Christ?

by Rev. Dr. Reginald F. Davis, Pastor First Baptist

The lives of people today are crowded with clutter; people have clutter in their homes, basements, attics, garages, and cars. They have so much clutter they don’t know what they have. It is difficult to give their lives order because the clutter is so deep and widespread they are walking over stuff trying to find stuff. The more stuff they accumulate the more they take in. Clutter has become part of American life. Clutter means there is no organization, no knowledge of inventory, and no prioritization of what is needed or not needed. People’s lives are so filled with clutter that there is little to no room for things that really matter.

Not only are people’s homes, attics, basements, garages, and cars filled with clutter but their hearts are filled with clutter as well. People’s hearts are so filled with clutter that they have lost their sensitivity. People don’t love as they ought to; they don’t feel other people’s pain. They don’t concern themselves with the suffering and plight of others. The strong runs roughshod over the weak; the rich takes advantage of the poor; the poor takes out their anger and frustration on themselves; the upper class looks down on the lower class; those who have much give the least, and those who could pull up somebody else refuse to give a hand. We are living in times when people’s hearts are crowded and filled with clutter that they have lost the capacity to love. For example, the young man who gunned down twenty seven people in Newton, Connecticut had clutter in his heart. He lost his sensitivity; he lost his love for others and himself. There was no room for compassion, mercy, peace, and joy. As a result, twenty precious children along with seven stellar adults lost their lives. Clutter in the heart can develop into a dangerous person.

Our government has a lot of clutter in its heart. In Washington, D.C. they are acting like spoil little children. The Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on anything; and the welfare of the country is held in the balance. Clutter is making our government inept. They are at a stalemate with taxes, the budget, polices, and common sense. Now, they are talking about the fiscal cliff. The nation is about to go off the fiscal cliff. What they don’t understand is we have already gone off the cliff; we have gone off the cliff of immorality; the cliff of corruption; the cliff of greed; the cliff of arrogance; the cliff of injustice and unrighteousness. Don’t let anybody fool you we have already gone off the cliff. The fiscal cliff just follows the deeds in the hearts of the people.

Not only does the government have clutter in their hearts but there are people in the postmodern church with clutter in their hearts. When there is a lot of fussing, infighting, backbiting, slickness, strife, competition, envy and jealousy, and power struggles going on in the church, it is the direct result of clutter in the heart.

The lives of many Christians are so filled with clutter that important things get buried beneath the pile of clutter. Important things such as communion with God, family time, prayer time, Bible study, fellowship, worship, and giving service to advance the Kingdom of God. These things often times get buried under all the clutter Christians have in their lives.

The question this Christmas season is; have we made room for Christ? Is he first priority in our lives? We know there is a lot of clutter in our lives, but have we made room for Christ or is he buried beneath all the clutter? In Luke’s narrative of the gospel it says, “And she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” The inn was filled to capacity that there was no room for Christ. The inn had so many people and activities going on that there was no room for Christ. What about us? Have we made room for Christ? Making room for Christ is more than just coming to church; it is more than just singing songs and saying prayers; it is more than just preaching a sermon and studying the Bible. Making room for Christ means he sits on the throne of our hearts and that he is at the center of what we do. Making room for Christ means he is our priority; he is our praise; he is our worship; he is our activity; he is our glory; he is our Lord and Master. Making room for Christ is doing unto others as you will have them to do unto you. Making room for Christ is loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. It means “Loving your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

Have we made room for Christ or is he buried beneath the clutter or is he there at all? When we make room for Christ, we make room for the best thing that life can offer. Out of all the activities we engage in this Christmas season, I hope we have made room for Christ. Jesus Christ is the reason for the season; and we need to make room for him not only this season but every season.

Rev. Dr. Reginald F. Davis pastors Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg on Scotland St. He has authored two books: Frederick Douglass A Precursor of Liberation Theology; and The Black Church Relevant or Irrelevant in the 21^st Century. Links to where you can purchase his books are Mercer University Press www.MUPress.org and Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc. www.Smyth&helwys.com, and Amazon.com. The author can be contacted at mdavis118@cox.net or Drdavis04@aol.com