Knocking

Knocking

7/15/18

How many of us have good attitudes when we hear someone knocking at our door?  With modern communication systems, the way they are today most of the people at our doors are expected but as we all know that is not always the case.  Our lives have become so busy that we do not pay enough attention to the time and when an unexpected knock on the door occurs, we can have a varied amount of reactions.  How many times have we answered our heart’s door with an ugly attitude only to find Jesus standing looking at us when we answer, or sometimes do we even answer it at all?  Whatever our response may be it could determine the future of our lives and for many people who are struggling they need to open that door but for various reasons, they do not hear the important messenger’s knock.  Church, we too, often do not hear Jesus knocking on our heart’s door wanting us to open it for His presence.  It is time we once again teach this truth about our Savior’s knock for the time may be short for some people or even a nation.

Many of you know that I was born and raised in the South and when God called my father and mother to other places within our great nation our vacations would be spent back home visiting family.  I thoroughly enjoyed these times and while vacations were special to us I was thrilled to be gone from my local environment long enough to see other parts of the country and then return ready to endure whatever life dealt.  My father was born and raised in Arkansas in a town called Stuttgart, which is famous for rice and mosquitoes and not in that order either.  It is a nice sized town with a wonderful heritage that many are proud of still to this day.  I remember those evenings when we would pull up into my grandmother’s driveway and we opened the doors of the car and literally ran into the house so we were not carried away by the amounts of mosquitoes.  To this day, when I go to the grocery store I look at the packages and bags of rice, turn them over and read where the rice came from and most of the time the label says Stuttgart, Arkansas.  Small details about one small part of a small state of this great nation but it is mine and I shall cling to it all my days.

One of the many trips back to Stuttgart I remember that we went and visited my great uncle John who lived there at the time.  I was not very big at all and even though I was young I still recall this trip for it was my first encounter with Uncle John who was basically deaf.  Dad told me a couple of stories about the house he lived in that involved my two uncles on the Bishop side of my family and other stories of the town and about the times that he had grown up there.  I still think about knocking on the door of his house and my father reminding me to knock hard because if I did not then there would be no chance of him hearing me.  I was a small squirt and could not make too much noise even if I wanted to but I did what my father told me to do.  He went around to the other sides of the house trying to peek into windows to see if anyone was home, he saw the television on so he knew Uncle John was home but with no response as of yet also knew that he did not have his hearing aids in his ears either.

We stood outside trying our best to raise him for what seemed like hours but when Uncle John finally answered the door it was a great time and experience for me to be able to see what he had to offer as a great uncle.  Of course with me being so young I really do not remember the details of that conversation between my dad and him but just sitting in his house and being able to look around at “old” things made my day.  And, the yard outside was big enough that a small boy could run around and burn off a bunch of energy that I had penned up inside too.  It was a wonderful visit and even though I did not understand the meaning of life and how quickly it could be taken from a family, I continue to think about that day and that visit from time to time.  I know that I can never return to that day again nor can I bring back my great uncle, but as long as I draw breath I can keep his memory in my heart and then pass it along to my children.  The process of knocking stands out clearly to me today for it was not a forced entry but it was a process that we on the outside was trying to grab the attention of those who were inside the house.  It is this process that Jesus tries to attend each and every day that we are alive for he knows that He only has a short amount of time remaining before He comes and gets His bride and He wants as many people to know who He is and what He means for their lives.

One other small detail about this encounter with Uncle John was that my father never once suspected that Uncle John was in danger or had been in trouble at any time.  The only condition that he knew about was that he was hard of hearing and that it always took some time for him to answer the door.  While I was very young and had no clue about the other conditions that my great uncle had, my father and mother never forced themselves through the door or did any property damage trying to get into the house that day.  We were all patient with the situation and eventually, he heard the knocking and the other noises and opened the door.  His attention was raised and we had a great visit for a while, a success story that I wish all could enjoy for themselves but I know that not all fit into this categorical appreciation.

Most have at one point in their lives saw the picture that is around that has Christ standing outside a door with one of His hands close to the door with Him about to knock on the door in front of Him.  His ear is close to the door’s surface and He is in a quiet and gentle mode as He is about to complete the action.  If you have never laid eyes on this picture all you have to do is to go to an internet web engine and type in Christ knocking at the door and you will get plenty of hits with pictures to observe.  I have had the privilege of seeing this picture countless times over my life and each time I see it, it strikes a chord within my heart and it speaks to my heart loud enough to envision Jesus’ knock at my heart’s door.  It also jogs my memory of the time in my life where I did not want anything to do with God or Jesus and even though my heart and attitude were not in the correct lineup Jesus never left that position and would ever so gently knock on occasion.

For the most part, I have always stayed away and strayed from the Book of Revelation for it is so convoluted with information that it has been so chopped up with opinions and surveys that I just do not wish to deal with it.  With that said and along with God’s sense of humor, I know that in the future we will be learning something about this book and what it means for our lives today.  I am not saying to ignore this beautiful installment of God’s definition because for us to understand and know God we must study ALL of His Word, so please do not get me wrong about what the previous statement contracted.  The reference text for this article is Revelation 3:20 which is a popular verse and the supportive passage for the famous picture that was discussed in the previously mentioned paragraph.  The verse reads as follows: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with me.”  This verse packs a punch in its content because it defines just how Jesus wants it to be with His bride, He wants a relationship with her and in order to have such a feast, He must establish a relationship just like any other type of human contact with each other.

The first word in this verse is “Behold” and then the word is followed by a comma which means that it is set off to itself and can be administered as a complete statement.  It is an attention grabber word that draws us to understand that what is about to be said next is of great importance and describes a setting that is in motion and will not cease anytime soon.  The Greek word used here is “idou” which means to look or behold and it means that one can see what is transpiring with their eyes but in order to do such an act one must see what is really going on around them.  How many times have you been on a walk around a local neighborhood and as you take your steps along the sidewalk or street have noticed people standing at someone’s door waiting for it to be answered?  I have to admit that over the course of my life I have witnessed some acts of this question but not very many, but that does not mean that they did not occur either.  The same concept applies on a personal level as well for many times we totally miss Jesus standing at our heart’s door and while He is still there and conducting His business, we have completely missed Him and His knock.

The first portion of this verse gives us the important clue as to the demeanor of Christ as He wants to begin a relationship with us.  The important word in this portion is “stand” which implies that He is patient and is not in a hurry about walking away.  How many times have we been the opposite when it comes to those who we are trying to change their ways?  I know I have to include myself in this impatient category when it comes to my daughters and even in my own life but Jesus is not like that for He knows that He shall never force Himself or His Ways on our lives even though He is well aware that when we do not have His Ways first in our lives we will always end up in train wreck conditions, for that is all the world can provide.  Yet, He stands there patiently waiting and gently knocking for us to open the door.  When placed with the word “I” this word gives us the continual state of Jesus’ presence at our heart’s door, these two words literally mean that He is always at our door waiting for us to allow Him access to our lives and it is this phrase that tells us that He not only stands there for people who do not know Him but for those who do as well.  It seems like this phrase really should hit home to those who believe that they have their ticket punched to heaven and can sit around and do absolutely nothing for God and the advancement of His Kingdom.

Does anyone like door-to-door salespeople?  I know that for the most part have been replaced by telemarketers, and can you imagine just how busy your doorbell would be if the number of telemarketers was still on the local and “personal” level?  In this political year it seems like my phone rings about three to four times an evening wanting me to support this or that or to make a donation to her or his campaign it is getting to the point where my wife and I cannot sit down and enjoy our evening together, let alone have an uninterrupted long conversation with each other.  This is the level that our society has risen towards and it seems like there is no end in sight to what the human mind will do in order to accomplish its gains and controls.  The human frustration level has increased with a paralleled anxiety as the societal markets’ which makes any type of truth and gentle placements in our lives almost impossible to fathom.  This tension is the source of many of the current issues we face and since we have ignored God and His Ways the flames under the burners have been placed on maximum and it seems like there is no end in sight.

This verse alone states that there is an option that is in front of us, one that has an answer to the day’s hustle and bustle of criminal liability that our lives are constantly subjected, the only thing we must do is to first hear the gentle knock and recognize that whoever it is outside has a totally different approach to what we are used to walking through.  If we only would go to the door and open it Jesus would love to come into our hearts and have a wonderful meal with it.  Jesus understands that this world is ugly and full of eternal hatred and He also knows that our lives can become so bogged down with this filth and dirt for He too walked this earth and firsthand felt the pain and agony of this world.  Jesus offers a true peaceful representation of what our lives were supposed to live within and under and it is His presence within our heart that gives us this peace and everlasting comfort.  Jesus wants to give you peace and understanding of what transpires in your life a commodity that all of us seek to find each and every day.  He understands that we shall not be able to find this perfect peace without Him, so when we reject His presence in our hearts we reject ANY hope of finding true happiness and peace.  Here is the kicker to this truth about Jesus and our hearts, our enemy knows this to be a fact about the everlasting peace when Jesus is present and it is our enemy’s job to lie to us and to mask this truth about Jesus from us by any means necessary.

While we would like to believe that our lack of hearing Jesus knocking at the door is a problem that has only crept into our lives recently, it would be a lie to believe such words and suggestions.  For the majority of the New Testament was written to the churches of that day and the words written to them were of a teaching nature of ideologies and philosophies that had presented themselves into the congregations as Word of God truths.  When one studies the history of the New Testament it easily becomes clear that similar issues today were already being addressed back in the 1^st century Christian Church, which means that the things of this world today were around back then as well, thus creating an environment with deep roots today.  Humanity loves to become busy enough to be distracted by the truth in the choice of entertainment and easiness and because we choose this path it is readily acceptable for our enemy to be allowed into our lives in the name of business and lack of study.  It does not matter how we answer the door to Jesus but the important thing is that we recognize the different type of knocking that He does. 

Our enemy wants us to become so busy that any outside distraction to what we are doing at that moment will be one of annoyance, so that when and if we answer the door to our heart we will not be in the mood to listen to what Jesus has to say, or anyone else for that matter.  The societies of today have become so hateful and angry and I am talking about the real anger and real hate that humans can display not the made up “hate” that everyone believes others have when they disagree with another’s position in life.  It is this type of divisive behavior that is a direct behavioral pattern that our heart portrays and while it seems to be ugly on the outside Jesus still stands at the door of this person or group and even nation and gently knocks.  There are so many distractions and reactions around us that keep us from giving Jesus the time He wants from our lives and it is in this position that time becomes unaware to our lives and thus has no presence in our hearts, a dangerous concept that will one day cease to exist.

As mentioned above, there has been a mistake that has been relayed to us concerning the presence of Jesus knocking at our heart’s door and that is we have always pictured this event taking place at someone’s heart that does not know Him as their personal Lord and Savior.  While this belief is an accurate one it is not the entire truth for Jesus shall not stop knocking at a person’s heart door after they accept Him, in fact, His presence at this door is just as important after a person accepts Him as it is when they have not.  God is a consistent God and since this statement is an eternal truth it means that His Son, who is in total obedience to His Father, cannot leave the ones who are in His flock.  It is this truth that every Christian should remember because just as we were knocking on Uncle John’s door it was because we wanted to fellowship with him and not be a nuisance, our purpose was just and so is Jesus’.  When we sing “you’re all I need” then we must not forget those words when Jesus comes knocking at our door.  We cannot forget that the Bible is for everyone no matter if they are people who never have known Jesus or for the one who has been saved for decades.

From the authors of the New Testament it seems like this type of condition existed back then enough to warrant addressing from Peter, Paul, John, Timothy, etc so why would we believe that it does not exist today?  Distractions and “lack of time” have become the scapegoat phrases that many Christians use in order to justify their lack of witnessing and providing public testimonies to those who need Christ.  While it may not superficially seem like those types of settings would be important they serve as the foundation points of our Christian lives and should be projected to all who come into contact with us, we have no idea of what is going on other people’s lives and if our lighted presence projects a positive presence then we have done our job with or without us knowing it.  We cannot afford to ignore God and His Ways because when we do we will not be able to tell those who are hurting to heed the knocking of Jesus at their heart’s door for we will not be able to understand what that sound is either.

The Church has become so caught up with the issues of the world that she has forgotten what it sounds like when her Groom knocks on her door.  Our eyes should never be so focused on the world that our appearance becomes a target of accusations instead of holy truth.  When we become distracted enough or deaf enough to the knocking of Jesus our eternal lives are at risk.  It does not matter who the person is or whether or not they are a Christian or not, Jesus will knock on your heart’s door in order to grab your attention for an important reason.  Our lives are eternally important enough to God and to His Son that He wants us to understand total freedom from the world at all times and the knocking that Jesus does comes in a gentle enough manner and we should be excited to hear the change of pace from those who beat down our heart’s door. 

As a collective heart, the Church has gained its notoriety through its own personal achievements instead of the advancement of the Kingdom of God.  This attitude was present in the Early Church and it has grown ever since.  That is a sad admission to make but it is one that needs to be addressed for we too have ignored the knocking of Jesus at our heart’s door.  It does not take too much searching to find that this is true and now more than ever we have so much work to be done to win the hearts of those who need Jesus in their lives.  But first, we need to open our door to Jesus because He is knocking so that He can come back into our lives and then give us the necessary words of life for today’s people.  When we open the door of our hearts to Him again it is a sign of repentance and His presence in our hearts is a sign of restoration the perfect combination of light to the dark world.  It is just as important for sinners to open their heart’s door as it is for those who have followed Jesus for some time for Jesus’ message is for all who open their hearts to Him, not just for a selected few.  It is evident that the Church has adopted this closed heart door policy towards this verse and thus towards Jesus and God says it is time that we start opening our hearts back up to His Son so that we may once again understand our mission to the dying world.

DLB