Knocking on the Heart’s Door
“Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20
You may have seen at some time in your life a painting of an artist’s rendition of Jesus standing before a closed door as He knocks against the weathered wood. As with all doors, a latch or lock is on the inside. Most of these paintings do not display a door knob or handle on the exterior of the door. The occupant of the residence is the one who answers and either welcomes the visitor in or turns him away. Or he might just ignore the knock altogether hoping the visitor will just go away. After all, it could be a bill collector, a scam artist, or a door-to-door salesman, a career that has just about gone the way of the phone booth. Or, God forbid, it could be someone from the church down the street! However, in this case, it’s Jesus Christ who stands at the heart’s door of the lost sinner or the backslidden saint.
Jesus is not like the salesman who tells you that he is not selling anything in order to get your attention; He immediately lets you know who He is and why He is desiring your attention as He speaks in His still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). Those who hear Him and open their heart’s door will be able to share all that He is and all that He has. He is a Gentleman, though. He will not force His way in. In some respects, He is like the salesman who tells you that the offer is only good today. We cannot be saved just any old time that we desire. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of our sin and gives us the opportunity to respond to His invitation to repent and trust in Christ for salvation. There is no requirement for God to extend the offer more than once, although, most folks that I know who came to Christ, including me, were given many opportunities. Since God is patient toward us stubborn folks and not willing that any should perish and that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9), He will do whatever is necessary to get our attention in His pursuit of sinners, and sometimes that takes more time than it should. How much better off would we be if we responded to the first knock on our heart’s door?
These days folks do a lot of on line shopping. The UPS, Fed Ex, and Amazon Prime trucks are on my street almost daily bringing packages to homes. The thing about buying on line is that you can’t actually see the product or item until it is delivered and has already been paid for. Sometimes it is not exactly like it was pictured on line. I ordered a new paper shredder the other day, and when it came, I discovered that it was about half the size of the old one that had quit working, and it cost more than twice as much. I ordered a battery operated lawnmower, but when it was delivered, it came without the batteries or the charger. I didn’t realize that, and since it was going to cost another $150, I returned it and bought a gas mower. So it is with the things of the world.
Unlike the door-to-door salesman who might not be completely honest about the product he is selling (how many times has a product you purchased not lived up to the hype?), Jesus can always be trusted to tell you the truth. He knows you better than you know yourself. The grace that He offers is free, but it cost Him His life.