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
When someone knocks at the door of your home, what is the response? Homes that have young kids often see the kids running to the door to answer it and a parent running after them to be certain that the child, upon answering the door, does not say or do anything embarrassing. Were you ever one of those kids?
Our response to the knock at a door is frequently dependent also on who is doing the knocking. When a child hears a knock at their bedroom door and then hear the voice that goes with that knock, there is a response to that information. Sometimes it is a response that says, “Why are you knocking on my door and what do you want?”
In Revelation 3:20, the one knocking is Jesus. What type of response would that create in you--you hear the knock and know it is Him by His voice? Jesus’ intent is clearly positive--he desires food and fellowship and says that very plainly! Despite the clear intent of the knock, we often hesitate to open that door and enjoy all that He wants to offer.
This verse is frequently used as a verse for evangelism. While that is not wrong, it is not the main idea of the passage. The passage is dealing with those who are lukewarm in their relationship with Jesus--those that are neither hot (bringing purity and cleansing to a dusty world) or those who are cold (bringing refreshment to a weary world). The lukewarm individual is not very good for cleansing, refreshing, or most anything else. Jesus is saying here that fellowship with Him can solve that problem.
Where are you now? Are you one of those whose relationship with Jesus has become old habit and lacks the vitality of causing you to be either hot or cold? If so, when you hear His knock and His voice at the door, run like a child to the door. That is not always easy, but know that the intent of His heart is good toward you. Allow Him to enter to be with you in a more personal way and enjoy rich fellowship that can make all the difference in the world.
Are you one of those whose relationship with Jesus has maintained your usefulness for His purposes? If so, you have experienced the blessing of opening the door. Now, continue to pursue that fellowship because cold refreshing water and hot cleansing water both become lukewarm with lack of use or the means to maintain their coldness or hotness. Fight for your usefulness by hooking into the power of the Holy Spirit to maintain the freshness that God intends!