Prepare Him Room

Prepare Him Room

Isaac Watts wrote one of the most enduring Advent/Christmas hymns with a single devastating line: 'Let every heart prepare him room.' The occasion is the story of the inn — or rather the lack of it. There was no guest room. The King of the Universe, born into His own creation, could not find a room. The hymn turns this into an interior invitation: if the inn had no room, will you? The lack in Bethlehem is the invitation for your provision: where the inn failed, the heart can succeed. Let every heart prepare Him room.

Luke 2:7's 'no room in the inn' (kataluma — guest room) is the hinge on which the entire birth narrative turns. The Creator enters His creation in the most available space, which happens to be a stable. The theological irony is devastating: the One who upholds the universe by the word of His power is laid in an animal's feeding trough. The Creator, displaced by His creation. This is the Incarnation in its most concrete, most humble form. Advent is the invitation to ensure that your inner life does not repeat the failure of the inn. Is there room? Not in your schedule — in your heart. Clear the stable if necessary. Make room.