Note: Today’s truth may ruffle some feathers…
“Look! I stand at the door and knock…”
How many times have these words been used as an altar call, an invitation to those without the Savior?
The trouble with that use of this verse is that it does not fit the context at all. Jesus aimed these words at the CHURCH in Laodicea. Believers. Christians.
This was a community of believers that had become lukewarm in their faith. Complacent. Going through the motions. No passion for the Lord or His kingdom, only themselves and their desires.
These were believers Jesus said he would spit out of His mouth because of their choice to SAY they were believers, then live independently of Him.
The King of kings comes down hard on this group, then reminds them that He corrects those whom He loves and invites them to turn from their indifference.
These words about Him knocking on the door are to these believers He has spoken such harsh words to. I believe He says this to let them know that they are still His, that their indifferent faith has not eliminated their relationship with Him, only created a rift that can be repaired by a change and celebrated across a table.
One cannot repair a relationship that never was. This invitation is clearly for believers, not the lost. Jesus was quite clear in the gospels that the Spirit CALLS the lost to Jesus, that when we lift Jesus high, HE calls all to Himself. That invitation is for the person to come to Him.
For those who already believe, Jesus comes to them.
Christian, do you hear the knocking? Do you feel the tension of knowing He’s there?
If your faith is sorta warm—like a tepid, tasteless liquid that creates an instant gag—please choose to turn from your indifference. Recognize that you’re trying to live independently of God, believing that your status covers all you need when in reality you are wretched, miserable, poor, and blind. Swing wide the door so that you and Jesus can celebrate the renewal of your relationship!
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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Faye Bryant is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals escape the lies of the enemy, live into God’s truth, and build a better life by first feeling, dealing, and healing their way through a stuck future or an abused past, toward a deeper path of purpose, and into the unhackable life of their chosen legacy. Hers is a story of resurrection: from death to life!