Revelation 3:20 (ESV): Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
During the years that we had our four children in our home we rarely received any invitations to come to someone else’s home to share a meal. We always felt that it would be a challenge for many to host six people!
For our part, we have successfully and regularly invited others to our home. We share a meal. We share conversation. The intimacy of our relationships grows deeper.
I think that there is something special that happens when meals are shared. Eating together draws people together in a shared experience.
Thinking about the above verse, Jesus showed up unannounced. His arrival demands something of me. It is not like I have initiated the relationship. He has. He is doing the knocking at my door.
When I hear Jesus knocking on my door I have a decision to make. Do I really want to let Him in? To do so, requires not just a decision, but a decision to allow Jesus to enter into my space. Meals are intimate. Do I really want Him with me? Based on the above verse, I haven’t made any preparations. In other words, I am not in control. Jesus, by initiating the knocking, is the One who is in control. To let Him in means that I am not in control.
If the above verse were about preparing a meal and then inviting Jesus to come share the meal with me, then I could rationalize that I would still be in control. Yet, that is not how Jesus works. He wants to be in control. Not me.
My part is to hear Jesus knocking, and then to decide to let Him invade my space. I must choose to let Him in. Also, I cannot determine or define who Jesus is. Jesus does that. Not me. The salvation He brings to me requires my submission.
Prayer: Jesus, I am overwhelmed by the fact that You have knocked on my door. I open my door and let You in. You are welcome to come into my space and establish an intimate relationship with me, on Your terms, not mine.
