Are you looking for a new door to be opened for you? We use the ideas of doors to help us think about possibilities. Maybe you trying to encourage a friend to take a chance on a new job so you say, “You never know what will be behind that door!” There can be an excitement of what is next as we go through the “door” for the next season of our life.
The Bible puts together two pictures of doors that have even greater potential. To set this up, think about one of the modern expressions of the digital doorway: the phone number. Although my daughter doesn’t have her own phone yet we keep our home phone for now so that she has a phone to use. In the last few weeks there has been a lot of talk among her friends about phone numbers. She even had a short conversation on the phone with one of them.
Even as an adult when we meet new people we make choices about allowing them into our world. Is the door open or closed for further relationship? I was at a conference in Florida and at the end there are conversations about connecting whether on social media or elsewhere.
The book of Revelation has two doors that together provide amazing connection. Although I have taught on both of these doors separately it wasn’t till this morning that I saw the connection between them.
The first is in Jesus’ letter to the church in Laodicea where he says, “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.” (3:20) This is often used about people who are not Christians, but the actual context is a letter to the church. Jesus would like us to invite Him into our world so that we can build the relationship.
The other picture of a door comes in chapter 4. It is one of my favorite passages to speak on because it gives us a glimpse into heaven right now. We get this amazing visual of the center of the universe. But what I missed was the connection between the two.
Jesus talking about our door is in the last few verses of chapter 3. Chapter 4 starts out this way, “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!” (4:1) It is mind-blowing to think that Jesus would like to spend time in our world and gives us His contact information as well.
But as we are reminded by the church in Laodicea we get a choice of how we will respond to this invitation. It is one thing for my daughter to have her friend’s phone number, but it is another thing for her to use it. Jesus would like to have friendship with us, but will we open the door to that experience? This is not to give you guilt but to encourage you with this amazing opportunity.
