Saturday, November 15
Listen, I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you and eat with you, and you with me.
—Revelation 3:30
It would be best to wait, I said to myself. The day may come that you are wise enough, patient enough, and open enough to ply its depth—but that day is not now. I knew it had a message, but I believed I did not yet have the depth to discern it.
But then, one day, I was interviewing a Norwegian neurologist whose faith was a central part of his life. We were talking about life, about how helpful it is to be part of a community of faith, and about his love of researching the ever-so-careful science of neurology and playing Bach on the organ.
“What is your favorite verse of scripture?” I asked.
“Revelation 3:30,” he answered.
“Revelation?” I said, taken aback for a moment. “And what is that about?”
“It is about God knocking on our doors,” he said. “I think we are so preoccupied with our own affairs that God may knock and we'll never hear it. We will be doing something else. We will be too busy to either hear the knock or bother answering. This verse reminds me to try and not let that happen.”
For the first time, the book of Revelation took hold in my heart. Would I hear the knock at the door? Would I open it? Would I realize both that Christ actually came to my door and then knocked? Would I share communion with him? Or would I be too busy.
A full study of the book lies ahead of me. But I am grateful for the insight of my Norwegian friend, and words in a book we call Revelation.
Is that you, Lord? Is that you? I'll be right there. Amen.
