Make Room!

October 5, 2023

Make Room!

The trouble with sadness is that it convinces me there is no room left for anything else. 

When I am sad, I quickly begin to believe there is no room for joy and celebration or for peace and victory or for hope or help.  I begin to believe there is no room for friends and family or play and work or worship and Jesus. 

Sometimes it is hard to pray. 

Sometimes it is hard to move forward. 

Sometimes it is hard to turn to a friend.

Too soon, I am convinced that no one understands and that Jesus is not paying attention.

While I was exercising early one morning a couple of weeks ago, sadness overwhelmed me.  I was missing my mother.  I wanted to be near her.  I wanted to hear her laugh.  I wanted to see her shake her warning finger at me.   

I am not sure what triggered the sadness.  Maybe it was a song to which I was listening while I exercised.  Maybe it was my mother’s knitted afghan laid across the back of the sofa in front of me.  Maybe it was helping my wife’s two brothers find a nursing home in which to live.

The tears filled my eyes and then flowed down my cheeks.  I just wanted to sit down and cry for awhile.  I was convinced there was no room left for anything else except the sadness.

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Corinth sometime during the first century.  The letter addressed the things that were taking people away from a growing relationship with Jesus and were causing divisions in the church.  The letter was a straightforward (some would say ‘harsh’) call for immediate change.

In his second letter to the church, Paul is concerned that the directness of his first letter may have injured his relationships with the people.  In II Corinthians 7:7-10, Paul acknowledges the people may be feeling sad or angry or helpless because of his first letter. 

Paul wondered if there was any room remaining in their hearts for him and his ministry with them.  In II Corinthians 7:2 Paul addresses the people’s response to his first letter.  Paul writes; “Make room in your hearts for us; we have wronged no one; we have corrupted no one; we have taken advantage of no one.”

Even though sadness fills the hearts of many in the church, Paul still desires to continue his relationship with the people.  He encourages them to make room in their hearts for old relationships and for new things of the Spirit.

The trouble with feelings like sadness or anger or jealousy is that they convince me there is no room left for anything else.  I begin to believe there is no room for old friends, no room for spiritual mentors, no room for the love of Jesus.

Over time, the sadness turns to depression, the anger turns to bitterness, and the jealousy turns to resentment.  Our heart is not filled with the love of Jesus but with the things that separate us from God and from the people we love.  There is no room left.

Paul calls people who are sad or angry or discouraged or afraid or jealous or hopeless to make room in their hearts.  By making room, Paul says Jesus will change the direction their life is going.  Paul says when they make room they will ask Jesus to heal the broken things in their relationships with family, friends, and even the church.

I imagine you know someone who needs to hear Jesus’ invitation to make room in their heart for the things of God’s kingdom.  Maybe they are overwhelmed with sadness.  Maybe they are consumed with anger.  Maybe they are obsessed with jealously.  Maybe they are overcome with fear.  Maybe they are conquered with hopelessness.

Invite your friend to make room in their hearts for love and joy and peace as well as for the presence of Jesus our Savior.  Invite your friend to make room for the fullness of God’s mercy, the fullness of Jesus’ love, and the fullness of the Spirit’s power. 

When your friend makes room for Jesus, the Spirit will fill their heart and their life with delight.  In their renewed relationship with Jesus they will once again be strong and courageous.  Take a chance for the sake of your friend.  Invite them to make room for Jesus to work.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug