"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
This is a very simple image which contains a profound message. If you look at the picture, Christ stands knocking at the door. The light shines through the small window of the door - someone is home - but there is something missing, or is there? There is no handle on the outside of the door, it can only be opened from the inside.
This is not a mistake, it offers a message which is that Christ will not force himself into our lives. He wants us to choose to follow him, to choose to love him, to choose to open the doors of our hearts. God created us with free wills and implanted a desire for truth and goodness deep within our souls so that we would choose to follow the good and come to the ultimate good which is God. Christ does not stand at the door of our hearts ready to condemn us. He stands at the doors of our hearts watching and waiting for us to invite him into our lives. He stands at the door of our hearts desiring to love us. When we fall he invites us to receive his mercy and strength in the sacrament of confession. When we hunger he invites to be nourished by his own Body in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Even though Christ will never stop knocking on the door of our hearts that does not mean we should leave him outside until 'the time is right', until we have cleaned ourselves up or dealt with this or that issue. The Lord wants to enter our lives now, today, all we have to do is open that door and as the scripture says he will enter in and sit with us. Why do we wait, our God is a God of love, fear not.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
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