Jesus Knocking

Scripture: Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

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 that person, and they with me.

Devotion:

This verse is often read as an invitation to unbelievers, and the gospel call is surely in it. But notice where Jesus is standing. He is speaking to a church, the church at Laodicea, and He is outside the door.

Laodicea was wealthy and comfortable. The believers there said, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing" (v. 17). Christ's verdict was very different: wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. They had filled the house with so much that they no longer noticed the Lord was missing.

A congregation or a Christian can keep the forms of faith while drifting from fellowship with Christ Himself. Sound doctrine, faithful attendance, and full calendars are good gifts, but they are no substitute for communion with the Savior.

Yet the knock is not a threat. It is grace. Just before this verse, Jesus says, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline" (v. 19). His rebuke is the knock of a Shepherd who will not let His sheep wander. He does not abandon a lukewarm church. He comes to it, speaks to it, and calls it to repent.

And what does He offer? A meal. In the ancient world, eating with someone meant sharing life with them. Christ promises more than a brief visit at the threshold. He offers fellowship at the table, the same fellowship He gives His people at His Supper and will complete at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Where do we hear His voice? We hear it in His Word, read and preached, and in the quiet work of His Spirit. Each time Scripture convicts you, comforts you, or calls you back, the Lord is at the door.

Do not keep Him waiting. Open the door, confess what has crowded Him out, and sit down with Him again. He has come to dine.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You stand at the door and knock, and we confess how often we have left You outside. Forgive our self-sufficiency and our lukewarm hearts. Open our ears to hear Your voice in Your Word, and by Your Spirit open our hearts to welcome You. Grant us sweet fellowship with You now, and bring us at last to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Your name we pray. Amen.