As we celebrate Advent and prepare for Jesus’ coming, my missionary friend Carolyn says we actually are looking for a 3-fold coming as we move toward Christmas.
- Jesus as a baby. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” John 1
- Jesus as the returning King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come Lord Jesus! Revelation 22
- Jesus as friend, brother and comforter. “Listen, I am standing at the door, knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you, and eat with you, and you with me.” Revelation 3:20
While I look forward to the birth of the Christ child and pray about the triumphant return of Christ the King, where the book of Revelation says Jesus will come back to claim his own, I’ve especially been pondering Jesus standing at the door my heart.
When I picture that, I don’t see a Jesus standing at the door of my heart on some fact-finding mission, saying. “Okay, Follis. Open that door, you despicable sinner. Time’s up. We’ve got to talk. Right now!”
Rather, I hear Jesus’ gentle tap-tap-tap as an invitation where he says, “It is I, son. Would you like to let me in? I can show you the way home. Wouldn’t you like to return home and rediscover who you really are, the man I made you to be? You and I can have such a great time.”
The God I worship is not standing at the door with a battering ram, ready to immediately confront me in my sin and get me to stand at attention for hours, endlessly repeating, “I’ve been so much more naughty than nice. I am such a bad person. I’ve been so much more naughty than nice. I am such a bad person”
Rather, Jesus is standing at the door of my heart, giving me an invitation to say “yes” to a deeper relationship with him. And let me tell you, that makes me want to fling open the door of my heart, and let him in to give me more of the abundant life he said he came to give.
“I came that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
So, friend, what is God inviting into this season? And what is stopping you from opening up all the doors in your life to the invitation of Jesus?
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