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Topic: Doors (04/05/04)
TITLE: Behold I stand at the door (but not with bandages or a bottle of wine) By Melanie Kerr 04/12/04 |
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I feel like I would like to hide away and lick my wounds. I don’t particularly want to work on my defence or call in any witnesses. I don’t want to massage my injured ego. I sometimes do that when I feel aggrieved. I just want to not think about it. I just want to immerse myself in some escapist book or mindless film and not think about it.
I wasn’t reading a mindless book though. I was reading the Sunday paper. There was an article written by a man who had sat down to read the Bible cover to cover in an attempt to find out what it was that Christians find so fascinating about the book. I would like to say that by the end of the article he had found faith, but he had seen only those more violent stories in the Old Testament and found only despair! At the bottom half of the same page another writer spoke out in defence of the Bible, but it was not his words that caught my attention. Alongside his words was a famous picture. “The Light of the World” portrays Jesus, complete with halo and storm lamp standing outside a door, knocking. I have a friend, another friend, not the one I just hurt, who did an Open University degree in Art history. I remember her pointing out to me all the tiny little details in the picture and me relying, “Wow!” every so often.
As I look at the picture now, I wish I could change just one little detail. Instead of a storm lamp, I wish Jesus was holding a pile of bandages under his arm. Here am I, behind my door, licking my wounds and a pile of bandages would be really useful right now! Or what about a bottle of wine and the latest DVD to watch? That would really take my mind off things.
The very fact that Jesus is knocking on the door tells me that he wants to be involved in what is happening in my life right now. I have already opened that door and he is inside with me. I will take Him without the bandages and the bottle of wine. I will allow him to shine his light on my bruises and perhaps see a little more clearly that some of them at least are self-inflicted. I will see that Jesus delights in mending things that are broken whether it is people’s lives or relationships. I will see the best way towards reconciliation and allow him to strengthen me for the task.
Jesus never carried bandages anyway!
Revelation 3:20 “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 him, and he with me.”