Publisher's Description: This beautifully illustrated Advent poem reveals the hope that the Incarnation gave the world by telling a story of the effect of Jesus' birth on the innkeeper's life in particular.

Only two weeks from His crucifixion, Jesus has stopped in Bethlehem. He has returned to visit someone important - the innkeeper who made a place for Mary and Joseph the night He was born. But His greater purpose in coming is to pay a debt. What did it cost to house the Son of God?

Through this imaginative poem, John Piper shares a tale of what might have been. The story of an innkeeper whose life was forever altered by the arrival of the Son of God. Ponder the sacrifice that was made that night. Celebrate Christ's birth and the power of His resurrection. Rejoice in the life and light He brings to all. And encounter the hope His life gives you for today - and for eternity.

32 Pages
Published October 1998

About the Author: John Piper is pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God’s call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (BD) and the University of Munich (DTheol). For six years he taught biblical studies at Bethel College in Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books including Desiring God, Don’t Waste Your Life, This Momentary Marriage, and Spectacular Sins, and more than 25 years of his preaching and teaching is available for download at DesiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and an increasing number of grandchildren.

About the Illustrator: John Lawrence is a graduate of Hastings School of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts (now Central St. Martins) in England. He is a member of the Art Workers Guild, the Society of Wood Engravers, the Double Crown Club, and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. He has illustrated more than 150 books.