Lesson Eight • The Church at Laodicea Devotion 5: Welcome Him
June 9, 2023 12:01 AM
Jill Osmon
“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 think we immediately assign this portion of Scripture to the unbeliever. Jesus is standing at the door to your life, knocking, wanting you to accept Him and invite Him into your life. It is the offer to be made new through the Gospel. It is a powerful image that has a profound depth to what God is offering through the Good News. If you have never accepted Christ into your life, admitted you were an imperfect sinner, who Jesus died on the cross and was raised from death for, I would urge you to open the door of your life that He is knocking at. Accept His gift of forgiveness and grace, and ask Him to be Lord of your life.
I would like us to look at this verse from another viewpoint. As believers, we can often times feel like our proverbial life or house is void of Jesus. This is true especially when we struggle with difficult seasons of life. Our house feels empty and cold, sometimes lonely or even scary. We wonder where the light and warmth went, and why it feels like Jesus left. Then we come to this verse in Revelation. There are life circumstances in which we essentially leave Jesus out on the porch, maybe because we are embarrassed by what we have done, angry that someone has done something to us, or that we have failed in some fashion. We wonder where He is while ignoring the knock and Jesus’ voice calling us, telling us He will help carry the burden, give us rest (Matthew 11), or that He will never leave us (Deuteronomy 31).
Will you heed His knock? Can you hear Him? He is calling from the porch, asking to come in. Maybe because you have never accepted Him into your life? Or maybe you are a believer who has left Him out of some pretty big seasons and circumstances of your life? Invite Him in and let Him be a part of every corner of every room of every house that is yours. It will be better with Him inside, beside you, guiding you, and encouraging you. He will be displaying His love and faithfulness right there at the dinner table, and not from the front porch.