Good Morning!
There is an old preacher’s joke that
goes something like this. A preacher was
trying to visit one of his members. He
stood at the door and knocked and knocked but nobody answered. So, he took out his pen and paper and wrote
on the paper “Rev. 3:20” and left it on the door, thinking it was a clever way
to get a member to read the Bible. On
Sunday, a note addressed to the preacher was found in the collection
plate. Below his writing of “Rev. 3:20”
was a lady’s handwriting with the verse “Gen. 3:10.” With his curiosity raised he quickly opened
his Bible and read, “I heard your voice but I was afraid because I was naked so
I hid.” Sometimes it happens.
Have you ever avoided answering the door to
your home because you didn’t want the person to know that you were home? Perhaps it was a salesman or a neighbor that
you just didn’t want to deal with today.
Sometimes, pressures lead us to avoid answering the door because we fear
a bill collector. Sometimes in anger we
avoid answering the door because we aren’t ready to speak to them just
yet. How long have you left the door
unanswered? For some it is years upon
years.
That is what happens when you refuse to
forgive your brother or sister. Oh, you
may allow them a physical presence; you may even be “civil” towards them; but
if you refuse to forgive then you have effectively shut the door on any true
relationship. You have decided not to
answer them. If it is a plea of
repentance or a plea for mercy as long as you shut the door, you have locked
that person out of your life.
You are also locking Jesus out of your
life. When we refuse to forgive, we are
blocking God’s forgiveness to us. We are
closing the door on our relationship with Jesus as well. Jesus came to fix broken people. He came to fix broken hearts, broken spirits,
and broken relationships. All the
healing requires forgiveness. All the
healing requires open doors and when the doors are open; reconciliation can
occur.
The greatness of Christ’s reconciliation
for us is that he continually knocks at the door of our heart wanting to be
allowed in. He wants to enter your heart
and dwell in you with the peace of his fellowship. He wants us to live content with the
certainty of our salvation. He wants us
to take this God given reconciliation and then go out and heal our brokenness
in the relationships that we have with our family, friends, neighbors and other
brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus is
standing at the door and knocking. We
should also stand at the door of those who we have hurt or hurt us so that we
may be reconciled to them because of Christ’s great love for us.
Father, too often we let pride and ego destroy our relationships with
those whom you have placed in our lives.
Forgive us and lead us to open the door to the healing that is needed in
this world. Guide us by your Spirit to
be healers in this world. In the
precious name of Jesus our Lord, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
