OPEN THE DOOR

In 2011 we lost the great evangelist, author, pastor and statesman, John R.W. Stott (1921-2011). Recently I came across a quote from him from 1938 when he heard an evangelist comment on the verse, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.”
Stott later described the impact this verse had upon him as follows: “Here, then, is the crucial question which we have been leading up to. Have we ever opened our door to Christ? Have we ever invited him in? This was exactly the question, which I needed to have put to me. For, intellectually speaking, I had believed in Jesus all my life, on the other side of the door. I had regularly struggled to say my prayers through the keyhole. I had even pushed pennies under the door in a vain attempt to pacify him. I had been baptized, yes and confirmed as well. I went to church, read my Bible, had high ideals, and tried to be good and do good. But all the time, often without realizing it, I was holding Christ at arm’s length, and keeping him outside. I knew that to open the door might have momentous consequences. I am profoundly grateful to him for enabling me to open the door. Looking back now over more than fifty years, I realize that that simple step has changed the entire direction, course and quality of my life.”

Each of us must decide to open the door and allow Christ to come in… or just stand on the other side of the door and fake it.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. Jesus