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Open The Door

Janet Schultz

Aug 19, 2024

Revelations 3:20 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.

Matthew 10:14-15 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake
off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it
will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than
for that town.

It is so nice when someone you like, likes you back and wants to spend time with you. We share
what’s going on in our lives, and as time goes on we learn more about each other and how we
can help one another through the best and worst of times. We are lovingly willing to be involved
in one another’s lives.

On the other hand, sometimes a person we want to connect with isn’t interested in that and
ignores or rebuffs our attempts at having a friendship or relationship. No amount of our
friendliness, asking, or effort makes a difference. That’s just the way it is. At some point we have
to learn that you can’t make someone like or love you. And what kind of a connection would it
be anyway if it was forced? That’s just putting up with someone, it’s not a relationship. It would
probably be time to move on.

When Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the good news, he gave them several instructions
on how to do so and to whom. He ended with telling them that if their efforts were refused, they
were to “shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town,” meaning to,
again, move on, with the admonishment that the day of judgment will be horrible for those who
rejected Him. Jesus understands that people can choose to not choose Him, because God gave
us the free will to do one or the other.

Fortunately for us, Jesus will continue to knock, but not force. What does his knocking look like?
Is it the prodding you feel to help someone, make a phone call, write a note? Does a verse in
the Bible or something someone says tug at your heart? Is there a feeling that something
beautiful has touched your soul at a church service, a family gathering or while viewing God’s
awesome creation, whether it’s the Grand Canyon or a newborn baby? And on the flip side,
maybe you are part of His knocking on the door of someone else’s heart. Tell people what Jesus
had done in your life, about your relationship with Him, then they can choose. It’s now up to
them. Either way, He is knocking.

He isn’t going to kick the door down like in the movies. No, there is one doorknob and it’s on our
side, not His. It’s our choice. If preaching, love, friendship, God’s beautiful creation, and all of
His prodding and calling can’t get us to open that door, it is at our own peril. But He still will not
try to make us do it. He wants us to willingly open our hearts and choose Him. He is ready and
willing to be in a joyful, wonderful, everlasting, one hundred percent dependable relationship
with you. It is the best thing ever.

Janet Schultz
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