WEEKLY FOCUS ARCHIVE

The Door

January 19, 2005

We started our journey at Uptown Church by looking at doors, some historic, some profound, some silly, some with monsters behind them, some old, some new—all kinds of doors. We all walk through, open, and close many doors every day of our lives. Most of them we do not even think about. Some doors we push open with little effort, some we must give quite a shove, others are revolving and still others open and close with the push of a little numbered button. There are doors on homes, offices, cars, vaults, churches, planes, health clubs, websites, and on and on and on. We access doors so often that we can forget the importance of them. They protect, they hide, they grant access, they keep out that which we don’t want in, they provide a place of solitude, they can be used to hide our secrets, and they can open and close worlds to us in so many ways.

Little wonder Jesus chose to use the metaphor of a door when speaking of the way of entry to our hearts. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” It is interesting that the maker of heaven and earth should knock, isn’t it? After all could he not just walk through the door without even opening it if he chose to? Could he not kick it in? Could he not open it with his own key? But why, why knock? Why does the Lord of heaven and earth knock on the doors of our hearts?

The answers are, of course, many; however, I think one of the most vital is found in Jesus’ question to Peter and to us, “Who do you say that I am?” You see, the God of the universe holds the keys to every door, yet, in love he grants us the ability to willingly open or close the doors of our hearts and minds to the one in whom all meaning, virtue and purpose is found. An entire world of adventure unfolds behind the door of Christ, but we must choose to walk through that door. More critically, this is the only door through which anyone may enter into a life of acceptance before God. Though our culture and the religions of the world offer us many doors as options from which to choose, they all lead to nowhere. Jesus said, “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life…no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus referred to himself as the door.

Going a step further, everyday the world offers us doors that lead us in various directions. Some lead to the purposes of God and some lead to rooms in which we know we ought not to venture into. As you approach various doors this week at work, school, and leisure, ask yourself if the doors you are about to open and walk through are ones through which you could walk if Christ were with you. As you approach the doors in your life this week ask yourself if the people and activities knocking are going to enter your room bearing that which is good or ill for you.

Lastly, as we move forward as a community here at Uptown Church let’s be committed with each other to the cause of volunteering our lives as doors through which the purposes of the church might be fulfilled. Let’s be absolutely passionate about bringing as many as we can through the doors of Uptown Church in order that they might be more careful to listen to the knock of God upon the door of their heart. Who are you bringing through the doors of Uptown Church this Sunday at 6pm? (temporary location)

- Bruce Smith, bruce@uptownchurch.net

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