Before the severity of the coronavirus hit Nashville, I journaled these words on March 8 – ‘Sports leagues are getting away with robbing families of their Sabbaths, family time, and getting kids in bed at a decent time. No one stands up and does anything about it. I wish someone would pull an Eric Liddell.’ I wrote this on a Sunday from a heated place because one child had a weekday 9:30 p.m. game along with a 10 a.m. Sunday game (March 8) and the other child had an 11 a.m. game on the same Sunday.
I continued in my March 8 journal entry – ‘I was reading in John and realized there hasn’t been room for Jesus since the inn and his consequential birth in a stable (Luke 2). I noticed a few days ago that the Jews spoken about in John 8:31 and 37 believed Jesus, but they had no room for his Word. Then in John 12:42-43 and 47, we read many people believed in Jesus, but they would not confess their faith out of fear their social circle would kick them out of the synagogue. They loved what others thought of them more than what God thought. They heard the Word, but they did not keep it. This is the same today. We believe, but we make no room for Jesus. He’s not the priority.’
Whether it’s a kids’ sports league or Netflix, we can allow so much to creep in and overtake our time. I didn’t know on March 8 where our world would be today, but I have talked (on the phone or on Zoom) with so many others who believe in Jesus and are using this time to make room for him.
Some people are on the frontlines of this war fighting for their lives or for the lives of others, yet I sit in the comfort of my own home teaching remotely and enjoying the extra time I have with my family. I don’t know what your days look like right now. If you are like me social distancing from home, please use this time to pray for the ones affected by this disease. Please use this time to love the people under the same roof as you. Please use this time to open the door to Jesus, spending time in prayer and in his Word. Please use this time to pray our world will get our priorities straight. Please use this time to practice selflessness and love.
There was no place for Jesus in the inn, but let’s make room for him in our lives and in our homes.