Find the beauty of the christmas story in you

​Why would the God of the universe be so intent on a humble entrance?

Why would a king, the image of which is so often associated with a palace and a throne, go to such great lengths to have us imagine his arrival in a barn?

Is it possible he wanted us to know he's not waiting for us to look like luxury before he desires to come into our lives? Is it possible God knew we'd spend more days of our lives feeling like a barn than a Marriott?

A Marriott - often sharply dressed greeters standing at the door to welcome you in, show you to your room, highlight the beauty of your stay.

Us, me and you - so often standing at the doors of our lives, ushering people away, frightened of what they might discover if they stayed.

God has never wanted his Kingdom to be identified by luxury. God wants us to see him as the One who longs to - who is willing to - who has the capacity to - turn our barns into palaces.

While much of the world wants us to be a palace before they'll knock at our door, God wants to knock at the door of our barns and invite us into building a palace together.

Steven Furtick says, "everything we use to keep God out is the reason he's coming in."

So often our brokenness makes us feel unapproachable to the world. But it's that same brokenness that make us approachable to God.

We frequently see and tell the Christmas story as one reflecting on the beauty we find in a baby. Maybe it would be more helpful, and more true, to reflect on a baby who came to help us better see the beauty in ourselves.

God didn't shy away from the mess in a barn for his grand entrance. So no way is God shying away from the mess in us.

Maybe God finds more joy in building beauty out of a mess than he finds joy by simply showing up in beauty that's already there.

Or maybe God wants us to know that once we invite him into our messes, it's there where God finds all the beauty he ever needs to find.

Maybe you feel like a mess today.

Like a barn.

But if you listen closely, someone is knocking at your barn door. Someone who believes you're far more Marriott than you know.

Answer the door. Discover the beauty of the Christmas story in you.