Our doorbell is broken.
That’s not a newsflash, just a fact. It’s been broken since we moved in nearly a year ago (where did THAT time go????). For some reason, fixing it hasn’t been at the top of our list of “things to do”.
Friends and family who have been here more than once know that they should come to the side door of our house if they want to get our attention and come in. Why? Because life happens at the back of the house, not the front, and we will rarely hear a knock at the front door. The busy sounds of every day life drown out that small, distant sound of knocking.
If I know a first-time guest is coming, I sit and wait in the front room to hear that knock, knowing that is the only logical place a person would come who hasn’t been here before.
Would a doorbell help? Of course. There are deliveries I’ve missed. But there is something sweet about a gentle hand rapping at my side, leave-it-Beaver type door. In fact, often the top half of that door will be wide open to receive the music of birds, the sound of laughter, the smell of fresh cut grass and the faces of friends and neighbors that stop by.
Opportunity knocks.
It doesn’t ring a loud obnoxious bell to get our attention. It simply knocks.
But it’s easy to be so distracted by the busyness and noise of life that we miss it. Not intentionally, of course. We just get caught up with what’s right in front of us and don’t listen for the signs of life right outside our “door”. Sometimes we realize we’ve missed the call, while other times those opportunities leave our porch and go to the next person who is aware enough to respond and answer the knock.
Jesus knocks, too. The most powerful and precious opportunity of all. In Revelation 3:20 He says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Wow! Jesus is right there at the door of our hearts, knocking. Not just for salvation, but for fellowship and friendship! He says that if we’re listening and respond to His knock, He will come in and eat with us. Relationship! Conversations over intimate dinners for two! Connection. Bonding.
And it all starts with a knock.
May our hearts be open, our ears be listening and our eyes be watching at the window for the most ultimate of opportunities, every minute of every day…
James 4:8 – Come close to God, and God will come close to you…
Luke 19:1-6 – Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Matthew 26:26 – While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
