Imagine, just for a minute, you invite someone over to your house for dinner, conversation, games, whatever. You get your house prepped and ready. Some of you will cook an amazing meal and some of us will order in (you do you). You’ve set the table. You’ve lit the good smelly candles. You have made your house cozy for the time you will spend together with your guest.
Just then...you hear a knock on the door.
They are here...
Now if your family is anything like mine, said guest will not simply be greeted at the door by one person, no that would be too easy, they will be greeted by myself, my husband, all of the kids that happen to be at our house at the time. Pleasantries are exchanged and you invite your guest in. You lead your guest through your house and to the start of the festivities, (which for this family typically start in the kitchen and dining room). Only upon arrival you turn around and find that your guest is no longer with you.
Curious, you make your way back retracing your steps in hopes of reuniting with your lost guest. To your surprise, they are still standing at the door. Thinking this is the most awkward interaction ever, you try again. “Come on in. Dinner is ready, games are out. Make yourself comfortable.”
And still they don’t budge. They remain standing in the open doorway.
Perplexed, you ask if everything is ok, to which your guest’s response is, “Absolutely! We are so glad to be here, thank you for the invite. I think we’re going to just hang here for a bit.“ Never coming in, just standing at the door.
Don’t be a creepy house guest.
This is my word/phrase for this year. Shocked? Nervous? How do you think I felt? LOL!
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. - Matthew 7:19
You prepare a table before me... - Psalm 23:5
In John 15 Jesus is talking about the vine and the branches
Remain in me...Remain in me and I in you...As the Father loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love...
Jesus spends much of this verse and many more verse, Alex Paraphrasing, saying dude come hang and stay. I want to be with you, I want to know you and for you to know me.
Why then do we sometimes choose to only stand in the doorway? As silly as that story was, why are we sometimes guilty of only coming to the doorstep of the throne room and never fully stepping in. Why are we not getting comfortable when we come into God’s presence? Knocking isn’t the last step it’s the beginning. We were invited after all.
It’s sometimes as if we are shocked that He opened the door when we knocked and we end up so stunned we just stand there in awe. Don’t get me wrong there is a difference between what I am talking about and reverence. Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, He is holy. Yes, He is to be revered. AND we have been invited to be with Him, to stay with Him.
Jesus hasn’t invited us to stand in the doorway. He has prepared a table. He wants to have a relationship not an acquaintance.
This year let’s stop being doorway guests, and with reverence and awe, let‘s learn how to become more comfortable in His presence. Let’s not be creepy house guests.
Love you,
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