Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you and eat with you and you with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Have you seen the famous painting by Holman Hunt which depicts today’s scripture of Jesus standing at the door knocking? If you haven’t, would you please Google it.
If we look carefully at the painting, we’ll see that there’s no doorknob on the door. That detail suggests that the doorknob is on the inside. If Jesus is to enter into our home—our life—we need to open the door. Jesus is a gentleman and won’t barge in where He’s not invited.
Look again at the painting. What do you notice about Jesus’ face? He looks weary, doesn’t He? This detail suggests that Jesus has been knocking on the door for a long time. Notice also that Jesus looks resolved, which suggests that He’s willing to wait until we do invite Him in.
I would like to focus not only on the message of this painting—that we need to open the doors of our life to Jesus, but also on the possible suggestions of this painting. There are times when Jesus stands at the door waiting to be let in, and there are also times when Jesus knocks at our door in order to invite us to join Him outside.
If we’re to follow Jesus out into the world, where would He take us? Jesus would take us to where He’s most needed. What are those places? Where people are hungry, broken, hopeless, needy, or lost.
Knowing what I do about Jesus, I believe He would take us to some places that will stretch and challenge us, places where we’ll not be in charge, places where we must lean into His strength because we’re so uncomfortable or overwhelmed.
Do you hear Jesus knocking at your door? If so, I encourage you to open it. If you invite Him in, your life will never be the same. If He invites you out, get ready for the adventure.
Reflection Questions:
- The doors where Jesus stands swing both ways. Do you need Jesus to spend more time with you on the inside issues of your life, or do you need to spend more time with Jesus working on the challenges in the world?
- When did you first open the doors of your life, heart, and soul to Jesus? What prompted, inspired, compelled you to do so? And if, by chance, you haven’t asked Jesus to come into your life, how long do you plan to keep Him waiting?
- After having once invited Jesus into your life, have you moved on without taking Him with you? You and Jesus were once close, but it now seems like He’s far away. If this is true for you, what would take to invite Jesus to come live in you again?