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by Logan Ames

I remember a time when I was much younger and I was at a gathering of believers where the speaker pointed out something that I hadn’t thought of up until that moment in my life. He talked about the holiday season and declared that it’s the best time of year for Christians to talk to others about Jesus. He further explained that Christians have a unique opportunity during these times because society is not as quick to reject any mention of God or notion of his faithfulness. The name of Christ is spoken of much more freely during the holiday season and we ought to take advantage of the increased awareness and acceptance of our faith.

Years later, I heard a song about our response to Jesus that I’ve really come to enjoy because it is so thought-provoking. Casting Crowns recorded it, and it’s called While You Were Sleeping. If you haven’t heard it before, go check out the lyrics and music at that link. The song targets three different geographical locations that either have ignored or are ignoring the King of kings even though they had every reason to get excited about his coming. While it’s easy for us to hear the song and point fingers at each of the places that are mentioned because of their collective disregard for the Savior, the point is for each of us to look at their examples and ask ourselves whether or not we have room in our lives and hearts for the King.

The first place mentioned in the song is Bethlehem. What can we learn about this town and its people? I learned in seminary that the town’s name literally means “house of bread," as it comes from two different Hebrew words. I then listened to a sermon by Ray Vander Laan who said that “our Savior was born in a bakery!” Jesus later on would say that he is the “bread of life” (John 6:35) and that the bread he gave at the Last Supper was “his body” (Luke 22:19). It’s only fitting that the bread of life would come from somewhere that is named “house of bread."

But there was even more reason for the people of Bethlehem to be ready for the Savior. Many of them would have been aware of the words of the prophets which are recorded in what we now know as the Old Testament. One such prophet was Micah, who said about Bethlehem, “Out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). The people of Bethlehem who worshipped the God of their forefathers in Israel had to be expecting the Savior. Even the evil King Herod had the chief priests and teachers of the law inform him that the Savior and king of the Jews was to be born in Bethlehem by looking at the above Scripture (Matthew 2:6). Everyone in and around Bethlehem should’ve been anticipating the Savior, yet the night of his birth came and his desperate parents couldn’t even score a local guest room because none were available (Luke 2:7). No one stopped and said, “You know, I’d love to give up my room for the Savior of the whole world." Like Casting Crowns says, Bethlehem will go down in history as a “city with no room for its King."

Not too far from Bethlehem is the city of Jerusalem, which is the second place mentioned in the song. The name “Jerusalem” is from the Hebrew for “city of peace." They too had reason to believe that they would encounter the Messiah. Isaiah 9:6-7 tells us that the Messiah would be the “prince of peace” and also that he would reign on David’s throne. Jerusalem was first the center of Judaism with the temple and all the chief priests and teachers of the law, but with the ministry of Jesus it became the center for Christianity as well. Jesus preached that loving God was most important, but you can’t really know if you love God unless you are also loving those that he puts in your path (Matthew 22:37-39). He also preached to them that he was “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and that God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son and that the only way to everlasting life was to believe in him and be born again (John 3:3-17). At first, his teachings were interesting and even exciting for many in the crowds. But, as the chief priests opposed him more and more boldly, as Judas betrayed him, and as his other closest disciples deserted him, the crowds who cheered for Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday demanded his crucifixion just five days later. They should have accepted the peace that he brought between them and God, but they rejected him as Messiah because he didn’t come to defeat Rome. No, he came to defeat the much more significant enemy of sin. Jerusalem will go down in history as a city with no room for its King.

The final geographical location mentioned in the song is right where most of us are sitting as we read this - the United States of America. The difference between us and the other two cities is that we haven’t totally missed our chance yet. We weren’t there to ignore Christ’s birth or demand his death, though we likely would’ve been in the same boat as those other two cities had we been there. The writer of the song turns his attention to our country because he realizes that we are well on our way to “going down in history as a nation with no room for its King." We are being “sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children." For Bethlehem and Jerusalem, they had no room for Jesus the first time around. As the song says, the question for us is whether we will have room for him when he returns to take his “bride," the Church, away with him. Will we be ready? Will we reject false teachings and humbly stand firm in the faith we have been given?

Here’s the thing: you can’t answer that question for the United States of America. But you CAN and MUST answer it for yourself. As you begin the busy season of Christmas shopping, Christmas parties, family gatherings, and much more, will you have room for the King in your life? Don’t “fall asleep” and miss out on a relationship with the Savior of the world. Learn from the examples of so many who have missed him because they didn’t have room for him. Open up your heart and ask Jesus to make his presence known to you this Christmas season.

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