We are bombarded by many Christmas messages from Thanksgiving to December 25th.
Some messages promote store sales for buying gifts for others and some messages promote the “reason for the season,” remembering our Savior Jesus Christ and His birth. I wanted to promote the latter but found it difficult to express in words exactly how I should present this message.
As I searched through my document files, I found the words to this song by Michael McLean and Merrill Jensen. I’ve heard a lot about the music and words of The Forgotten Carols, but never actually listened to them.
As I listened to the song “Let Him In” the words struck me as a poignant message from a different perspective: the inn keeper who sent Joseph and Mary away because there was no room for them.
The words to the song are as follows:
I am a man forgotten
No one recalls my name
Thousands of years will fail to
Fully erase my shame
But I turned a profit
Nicely the day
That I turned the couple away
I turned them away…
I didn’t sleep that evening
Though I’d sold out my place
Somehow I felt uneasy
Something about her face
Why did I wish
That I’d let them stay?
I didn’t think they could pay
Or could they have paid?
Restless, I left my bedroom
I walked the streets all night
Lost in the world I lived in
Found by a heavenly light
Staring at one bright star in the sky
I heard a baby cry
And I knew where that cry
Had come from
‘Cuz I’d told them where
No Room at the Inn, by Robert T. Barrett
they could go
But I didn’t think I could face them
And so I walked slowly home
Missing my chance
To share in their joy
I never saw the boy
He never would condemn me
I did that all on my own
He offered His forgiveness
And ever since then, I’ve known
He lets us choose
Each hour of each day
If we’ll let Him in to stay
Let Him in
Let Him in
Let the peace on earth begin
Let Him in
Let Him in
Let the hope and joy begin
And whether it be
In your world today
Or a crowded Bethlehem Inn,
Find a way
(Find a way)
Make Him room
(Make Him room)
Let Him in
Let Him in
(Let Him in)
Let the hope and joy begin
(It’s beginning)
Let Him in
(Let Him in)
Let Him in
(Let Him in)
Let the peace on earth begin
(It’s beginning)
Let Him in
I hadn’t considered how the Inn Keeper would have felt after realizing the importance of this particular couple expecting a child. Who knows what his feelings would have been had he known? Maybe he would have done something to arrange for a better place for them to stay, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
As the lyrics tell us, the most important message this Christmas, and every Christmas here after, is that we can accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. This will bring us joy and hope. Hope is so important in a world that seems so very lost at times.
To read more of Valerie’s articles, click here.
Christ will bring us Joy as human beings because we are at peace with ourselves and the good life we lead. All one must do is look heavenward and remember who sacrificed so much for us because He loved us.
So this Christmas week, take a minute each day to remember the messages Jesus Christ has left us and why we are celebrating His birth. Let Him in.
Valerie Steimle has been writing as a family advocate for over 25 years. As a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she promotes Christian living in her writings and is the mother of nine children and grandmother to twelve. Mrs. Steimle authored six books and is a contributing writer to several online websites. To her, time is the most precious commodity we have and knows we should spend it wisely.
To read more of Valerie's work, visit her at her website, The Blessings of Family Life.
