Jesus Is Knocking

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

(Revelation 3:20)

I like being in charge of my life. As a small child I resisted the directions and corrections of my parents. It didn’t get any better as I reached adolescence. My rebellion wasn’t as bad as some. I never got in trouble with the Law, but there were a few instances where I could have. It was mostly mischievous acts, where I was trying to prove to myself, ‘I was large and in charge,’ as the saying goes.

Any exposure to Christ I received in preadolescence went for naught as I became an adult. I was married and became a parent at a young age. My heart was full of love for my family but there was no room for Jesus. I made mistake after mistake in trying to find happiness for myself and spouse. Most of the time, I made things worse because my solutions were only temporary. As soon as the party was over, and the guest had gone home, the emptiness in my heart returned. Had I been following Jesus at the time, I wouldn’t have been so foolish.

All my searching for the elusive ‘happy life’ was fruitless and futile. In my thirties I began to explore a more spiritual source of happiness. Of course, I tried to be analytical and in control of what I was going to believe in. I had brief experiences with a couple of cults. Fortunately, I never became fully involved. Looking back, I’m sure the Holy Spirit was protecting me from those false religions that lead millions of people astray.

My heart could hear Jesus knocking but I foolishly ignored him and kept looking in all the wrong places. All those years of me stumbling around, he was standing at the door to my heart, patiently knocking! All he wanted was to come in and commune with me. Even though he is mighty and powerful he will not force his way, he waits to be invited. All I had to do was open the door to my heart, hand him everything I ever did wrong and make room for him there! My heart used to be full of hatred and animosity, but now it’s fill with love.

If you’re like I was, in a lifelong pursuit of an elusive happy life, but never finding anything lasting, look no further than the door to your heart. Open that door and you’ll find Jesus. By giving him lordship of your life, you’ll receive happiness that goes beyond understanding or explanation. I’m not saying you’ll never experience unhappiness again, but when you do, you’ll have an inner peace about it because you’ll know it’s a temporary condition, and the Spirit of Christ will see you through.

Heavenly Father, you are mighty and powerful, and we are weak and pitiful. Yet, you search us out when we are lost, like a shepherd looking for a lost lamb. You care deeply about each and every one of us, no matter what we’ve done. How do we say thank you? What combination of words can we put together to adequately express our gratitude? When we were searching for some other person to make us happy, you were there knocking. When we thought a party, or more drugs, or illicit relationships would fill the holes in our hearts, you were there knocking. When we were at the very lowest point of our lives, you were there knocking. It’s hard to imagine now, what our lives would be like if you hadn’t been so persistent in knocking. Even if we had found something that made us happy during this lifetime, but we didn’t have you in our hearts, it would mean nothing in eternity. You want to commune with us, but you will only knock. You will not break the door down. You wait patiently for us to come to our senses. Thank you for being persistent. In Jesus’ name. Amen!