May 10: DON’T SHUT OUT JESUS!

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

It is much easier to “serve” the Lord without the vision that comes from hearing [His] voice, because then we are not bothered by His requirements. Yet, His voice is always accessible. What He has to say for our instruction and benefit is laid out plainly in His written word. But rather than make adjustments to bring ourselves into alignment with His word, we will ‘stir together some common sense with a dash of emotional spice’ and call it “service to the Lord.”

The general address to the last-day church at Laodicea has, up to this point, been for the church as a whole. But in our opening verse above, it becomes very personal: If anyone hears My voice… The gentle Hand that knocks patiently is waiting to be invited in. The God-given gift of the ability to choose ranks right beside the gift of life itself. Our Lord’s attendance to every individual is being stressed here.

The promise to the door-openers, “I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”, is a beautiful metaphor that signifies a deeply personal one-on-one relationship. Jesus is making this personal appeal regardless of the condition of the church as a whole. And when, one-by-one, He enters hearts of those in His last-day church, His message will ‘explode’ onto the scene of devastation in this world caught in the clutches of Satan. Through the thoroughly committed remnant of His faithful ones, Jesus will bring other sheep which are not of this fold (John 10:16). These other sheep will be called from every “nook and cranny” of Babylon (Revelation 18:2,4). God is showing the world just how far-reaching is His arm of salvation.*

This last appeal in the last letter to the last-day church by Jesus hearkens back to the entrance of sin into the world. We are given a very clear choice: to dine with [Jesus] or to ignore what He has said and consume whatever seems pleasing to our common sense (see Genesis 2:9, 3:6). This “menu” applies to all that we consume, whether it be food that we allow into our bodies or food that we allow into our souls, for not all on the available “menu” is actual nourishment (see Revelation 12:6,14). The Lord has your salvation and best interest on His loving mind while Satan has your downfall and destruction on his twisted mind.

There is a tragic irony coming to light in the closing days of earth’s history. Multitudes who have never had the advantage of literacy and access to the Bible will learn of Jesus and joyfully seek every possible way that they may serve and please Him. At the same time, many who have had full access to God’s word all of their lives, and who present themselves as His followers (see Isaiah 4:1), will find that they are shut out of heaven.

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46

*The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:10

For further study: Matthew 7:21-24; 25:10-12; Romans 2:13.