When we open the door of our hearts Jesus comes in. He has been there knocking for some time. I didn’t respond to the first calling to confess Jesus as Lord. But, by God’s grace, he remained at the door continually knocking until I finally surrendered my will to his and opened the door.
The image of conversion ends with a promise (Rev 3:19-20). If anybody hears the knock (the voice of God’s Spirit) and opens the door (favorably responds to the call to repent and believe) then Jesus promises to come in.
Three things happen at conversion, 1) Jesus comes in, 2) he eats with you, and 3) you eat with him. The metaphor of sharing a meal together is the ultimate picture in ancient times of having a close friendship with another person.
An amplified translation
Here is an amplified translation of the original Greek language of verses 19 and 20. It emphasizes all the points we have made in the previous two talks.
“The many whom I love I expose their faults and discipline them with punishments so as to cause repentance. The result of my loving discipline will be that all you I love will be motivated to persevere with the initial earnest zeal you had for me, and I command you now to repent so that your hearts might continue to change. Pay attention! I have been standing in front of your door for some time and am continually knocking, if someone can finally hear my specific voice and opens that outer door; I will come to him, and be in him so that we might be close, and I will share the main meal of the day with him and he with remain in fellowship with me.”
This isn’t a literal translation. It adds to the text details that would be second nature to the original ancient reader. Those assumed details are not necessarily obvious to a reader 2,000 years later. With an amplified or expanded translation we see more of the details this simple image of opening a door contains as it relates to redemption.
A shared meal
The last important image in these passages is Jesus walking through the door and sharing a meal with the homeowner. In ancient times sharing a meal with someone was the clearest sign of friendship. The meal referred to is the early evening meal we now call supper. It was an intimate leisurely meal where people would recline together and spend time enjoying each other’s company. This is what Jesus was doing with his disciples at his last supper. They reclined anticipating a relaxing time of fellowship with their Lord (Lk 22:14-23).
This is a picture of heaven. Heaven is where God dwells with us. When God’s Spirit resides in your heart you possess the quality of eternal life and will quantitatively live forever with God. Salvation is not being saved from hell. It’s enjoying intimate fellowship with your Creator God and Lord Jesus our Savior now. Redemption is spending the rest of your life enjoying God and him enjoying you. That’s the point of the letter to the Laodecians. Fellowship with Christ was threatened by their lack of enthusiasm to be with him. Jesus died on the cross to restore that fellowship. And, it’s the purpose of our lives–to live with him. We are created to enjoy God and to give him glory for redeeming us.
Not to respond to God’s Spirit urging us to recognize Jesus as Lord is presuming on God’s grace and mocking his forgiveness. You and I might deliberately disobey God. We might do bad things. Certainly, we will be, to some degree, inconsistent with what we profess. But we must never ever think that Jesus endlessly knocks on a heart’s door when his forgiveness is rejected.
Presuming on grace; mocking forgiveness
To presume on God’s grace is to hear of his goodness, taste of his love, and still think we can continue in a life of sin, all because we are convinced that God’s love will hold his justice at bay until we are finished sinning. Once we have tasted that the Lord is good, we must rid ourselves of all behaviors unbecoming of a follower of Jesus our Lord (1 Pet 2:1-3). Not to repent is unbelief and a sign we have yet to be redeemed.
Presuming on the grace of God isn’t the only danger we face when we hear the knock but chose not to open the door. Not to respond to God’s Spirit calling us to salvation is also a form of mocking God’s forgiveness.
The author of Hebrews warns that for those who continually reject Jesus’ payment on the cross, repentance from their fallen state becomes impossible (Heb 6:4-6). To live unforgiven after you have heard the good news of God’s gracious redemption is to mock the divine forgiveness offered through Jesus suffering and dying on the cross. Once enlightened to this truth we have tasted the goodness of God. To have tasted and then reject God’s offer of a free and gracious redemption is to mock the cost of being forgiven. It’s as though such a proud rejection is saying the Son of God must be crucified all over again because what he did in history wasn’t enough.
Heaven is wherever God is. The door is our heart. And Jesus is knocking. Do you hear the knock? Has God’s Spirit brought you to life to hear and open the door? Do you realize the importance and value of what Jesus is doing when he comes to you, offers you his friendship, acts lovingly toward you, and offers you forgiveness while you and I deserve to be condemned? If you hear the knock, have been enlightened to the value of grace and forgiveness, then you are close to entering heaven. These are good signs that God has come to you. Open the door, let him in.
