OPEN THE DOOR AND LET HIM IN!

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Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me. - Revelation 3:20 AMP

This scripture verse is usually invoked in evangelistic settings to get unbelievers to open their hearts to receive Christ and be saved and the Holy Spirit uses it in such situations quite marvelously. However, this verse is part of a message that was given by the Head of the Church, Christ himself, to the Church at Laodicea. It is essentially directed to believers.

This church had slowly drifted away from communion with and dependence on Christ. The believers there considered themselves to be self-sufficient in every aspect and that attitude led them down the path of indifference and lukewarmness. They figured they had it all, they had said of themselves “we have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17) They had regressed to the point of leaving Jesus out of their lives. Pride had crept in and they ended up being neither hot nor cold – lukewarm! In their perceived self-sufficiency, they had lost the zeal and enthusiasm the had when they believed.  

Before we pharisaically look down our noses at these Laodicean believers, let’s take stock of our own individual as well as collective situations. Is Christ front and center in our lives? Are we trusting in Jesus or have we declared independence from Him by trusting in the arm of flesh? What occupies most of our time, talents and resources? Are we channels of His blessings to others or have we become containers hoarding His blessings for ourselves? Are we flowing with or frustrating the grace of God in our lives?

Christ is calling us back to our first love – Him! Let us be reminded that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) Condemnation will only serve to heap guilt on us and cause us to drift even farther away from He who loved us and gave His life for us – Jesus Christ Our Lord. The Holy Spirit is continually pointing us back to Christ in every area that we fall short; so when you hear Him knocking on the door of that area in your life, let Him in and He will reveal His heart to you and as you behold Him you will be transformed into His likeness.

The Lord loves us with an everlasting love and desires to fellowship with us, to share His heart with us as we share ours with Him. He desires constant and continual fellowship with us. He doesn't want you to lean on your own understanding for when you do so, you limit Him, you shut Him out, essentially telling Him we don’t need Him, we can handle stuff on our own; now that’s a recipe for one wretched, miserable sorry life void of the love, power and testimony of Jesus. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your steps.

We will do well to zealously change our minds, let's stop relying on ourselves, let's depend on Christ for everything. He is the vine, we are the branches and without Him we can do nothing. Let's heed this call back to intimacy with the Savior, Lord and Lover of our souls.