"I Am the Door"

I Am the Door  (John 10:9, Rev 3:20)

I love that Jesus lays enormous truth on a low shelf, packaged in a simple illustration, so that we can reach it easily.  What could be simpler to understand than the image of a door?  On one side is one room, or place; on the other side is another room or place.  Open the door, cross the threshold and you have entered.  Jesus says, "I am the door.  If any man enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."   

Jesus is the door.  On one side of the door is being away from God.  On the other side is being with God.  Go through Jesus - the door - and be saved from being away from God, both now and throughout eternity.  Real life begins after that initial entrance through Jesus;  He says that now we will go in and out and find pasture, hearkening to our life as a lamb of whom He is our Good Shepherd.  

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus refers to us as having a door:  "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 him with Me."  Both pictures describe the same truth:  Jesus is the entrance to life with God.  We enter God's presence, and God's presence takes up residence within us.  Just pause here, exhale, and ask Him to wash over you with the enormity of that truth. 

No longer are we isolated from Him, no longer are we facing life alone.  We are forgiven, reconciled, accepted and embraced by God Himself, because Jesus paid the way for us when He sacrificed His life to cover our sins.  Now the Holy Spirit of God Himself resides within us, opening our minds to understand His Word, empowering us to resist temptation and to obey Him, shaping us moment by moment, choice by choice, into His image, as He created us to be in the beginning.  Miraculous.  Undeserved Grace.  Unmerited Favor.  

Thank You, Jesus, for being willing to take on the form of man, to live among us, showing us what God is like, and then sacrificing Your life to pay for our sins.  Thank You that You are not willing that ANY should perish, but that all should come to You through faith.  Thank You for being the door that takes us into God's Holy presence.  Help us to honor, worship and praise You as is fitting as we approach the day we celebrate Your birth.

(the link to the kid's post is:  http://elizabethtreger1.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-countdown-dec-16.html)