JESUS IS A GENTLEMAN
"Here I stand knocking at the door; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sit down to supper with him and he with me." Rev. 3:20, N.E.B.
Jesus can invade the vast emptiness of space, speaking but a word and thrusting in worlds, solar systems, and galaxies. He can invade a deep-rock tomb, penetrating even the ears of the dead with the command "Lazarus, come forth!"
He can invade the cells of a disease-ridden body with the simple command "Be whole!" Without asking permission, Jesus commands the armies of heaven, the stars of the galaxies, and the electrons in the atoms.
But when He approaches the loyalties of the human mind, the "invasion" stops. He makes no commands, implies no threats. He does not force the door. The Scriptures portray Him standing, with utmost courtesy, outside the door, knocking. And were the door to be opened, He would enter, not to deliver a scathing rebuke for being left outside but to enjoy a pleasant meal with His new friend.
Could Jesus have commanded a solution to the problem of errant loyalties, He could have skipped some six thousand years of controversy and pain. But He knew that a commanded solution is no solution. And so, even though the Laodicean condition is a deadly one, He still only knocks.
He knocks through that aching emptiness of the heart that only He can fill, through crushing problems that only He can solve, through longings after new horizons that only He can satisfy. He knocks through direct convictions of the Spirit while reading the Scriptures, through a nagging awareness of spiritual dullness, and through the winsome appeals of a genuine friend.
Many leave the door closed to His gentle knocking because they suppose that, like a door-to-door salesman, He is simply "peddling goods." New behaviors to adopt. More things to do, and new lists of things not to do. Additional burdens to add to an already weary life. They fail to notice that the open door welcomes the Person Himself--in warm, healing fellowship. Dear reader, do you have any valid reason to say No to Him?
"Here I stand knocking at the door; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sit down to supper with him and he with me." Rev. 3:20, N.E.B.
Jesus can invade the vast emptiness of space, speaking but a word and thrusting in worlds, solar systems, and galaxies. He can invade a deep-rock tomb, penetrating even the ears of the dead with the command "Lazarus, come forth!"
He can invade the cells of a disease-ridden body with the simple command "Be whole!" Without asking permission, Jesus commands the armies of heaven, the stars of the galaxies, and the electrons in the atoms.
But when He approaches the loyalties of the human mind, the "invasion" stops. He makes no commands, implies no threats. He does not force the door. The Scriptures portray Him standing, with utmost courtesy, outside the door, knocking. And were the door to be opened, He would enter, not to deliver a scathing rebuke for being left outside but to enjoy a pleasant meal with His new friend.
Could Jesus have commanded a solution to the problem of errant loyalties, He could have skipped some six thousand years of controversy and pain. But He knew that a commanded solution is no solution. And so, even though the Laodicean condition is a deadly one, He still only knocks.
He knocks through that aching emptiness of the heart that only He can fill, through crushing problems that only He can solve, through longings after new horizons that only He can satisfy. He knocks through direct convictions of the Spirit while reading the Scriptures, through a nagging awareness of spiritual dullness, and through the winsome appeals of a genuine friend.
Many leave the door closed to His gentle knocking because they suppose that, like a door-to-door salesman, He is simply "peddling goods." New behaviors to adopt. More things to do, and new lists of things not to do. Additional burdens to add to an already weary life. They fail to notice that the open door welcomes the Person Himself--in warm, healing fellowship. Dear reader, do you have any valid reason to say No to Him?
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