Kids make terrible roommates. They are messy, noisy, rude, unhygienic, and smelly. They are highly needy and have all sorts of crazy expectations of others in the house. They can disrupt and destroy almost anything physical, mental, or emotional that you hold dear. Apart from that, they are alright.
With 4 such miscreants under my roof (I really do love them!) I sometimes find myself daydreaming about silence and solitude. It is a lot of work to raise kids to be the kind of people you would want to live with. It also takes some serious self-reflection to ensure that you are the kind of person that others would want to live with. Parents can be worse than the children at times.
Christmas has a lot to say about dwelling with people. One major thrust of scripture, seen from Genesis to Revelations is that God will dwell with his people. When Jesus came to earth as a baby he was taking up residency with us. He was choosing to become a roommate to people who would one day crucify him.
Many days, my kids are messy, whiny, and disobedient, but generally to a degree that can be managed. On the average day in my walk with God, I am messy, whiny and disobedient too. Even with my own kids and spouse I have moments where I am just not a pleasant “roommate.” With God I can harbor even deeper resentments, anger, or frustration when I don’t get my way or don’t want to do what I know God desires.
Here is the funny thing about God choosing to dwell with us. He knew he was getting bad roommates. He knew we would steal his food out of the fridge, leave messes all over the house, and put a big scratch in his car in the driveway when we ran our bike into it. If we read scriptures correctly we realize that Jesus actually wanted to be our roommates precisely because of those things. He came to the sick, the broken, and the sinners because he loves us.
A manger isn’t such a bad place to lay one’s head when compared to some of the places Jesus would later lay his head. The earthiness of the nativity is such a powerful image of God’s love because it reveals that He is willing to enter the dirt and grime of our world. If He is willing to spend his first nights with livestock on hand, he is more than willing to live with us, His sheep, for eternity.
Jesus, in choosing to dwell with us, took us on as roommates. We’re not often the best of roommates but He loves us still. Christmas is a great time to take inventory of how we are doing as roommates. With Christ as a roommate we don’t have a huge list of do’s and don’ts. While he doesn’t love our messes, he actually has already done the work of cleaning up after us. More important to our dwelling with Jesus is our longing to be with Him, enjoying His presence.
Whether you are a clean or messy roommate is not of first importance to God. Jesus is now in heaven preparing a house for us where we will dwell eternally. Admittance to the house has nothing to do with how well we have done as “roommates” on earth and everything to do with what Christ has done. We can rest in Him as the perfect “roommate” and learn to enjoy him knowing that he won’t kick us out or call a house meeting because we left some dishes in the sink.
As we celebrate God dwelling with us, remind yourself that our messy, earthly dwelling (where Christ came to us) is not our eternal dwelling. Jesus came to dwell with us and has promised to bring us home to dwell with him forever in a place where there will be no more tears or grief.
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