No Room in the Inn

A young man wandered down our block this morning. He appeared lost and cold. He had no hat and  no gloves. My husband, who was working in our shed, noticed him and asked what he was looking for.

As he talked to him, he learned that this young man had been kicked out of his house. He was looking for a friend's house but did not have the correct address. He had no place to go, no place to stay. No adequate winter clothing to keep him warm.

We see these kinds of situations all the time in the city. People with out resources, family or hope. Somehow, though, these situations seem much more desperate in the harshness of the winter- when most families are making plans to celebrate Christmas inside warm houses.

It is no small matter that our Lord and Savior came into the world under circumstances not unlike many of the poor dwelling in our cities. His earthly parents had no place to stay- they were turned away from several establishments before finding rest in a humble stable. Christ came into the world "...to bring good news to the poor...to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives..." (Isaiah 61:1).

Daren drove this young man to a nearby shelter where he could stay and get meal. Daren also gave him his hat and gloves and prayed for him before dropping him off. Yet, when Daren returned home, he could only shake his head and say,"So sad."

If this were the end of the story, there would be no hope- no reason for celebrating this season. But we know that Hope has come. Hope was born in a dirty stable- in poverty and obscurity. Hope has come so that men and women who wander down cold, dark streets can find warmth and light in our Savior.

We have hope that this young man Daren met on our street might find Christ. We have hope that a seed was planted in his heart.

May the words of O Little Town of Bethlehem encourage your hearts:

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light,

The hopes and fears of all the years,

Are met in thee tonight.

Christ has, indeed, come. And he has come to the dark streets of the inner city so that the lost may have their hope fulfilled in them.