From a New Testament biblical perspective, one of the most famous portrayals of Jesus Christ is based on the following verse from the book of Revelation. "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 him, and he with me." [Revelation 3:20 NIV] This verse has been visualized by numerous artists on canvas, in prints and even stained glass windows. The verse and the renderings raise the question of whether you or I will "open the door" of our hearts to Jesus via faith.
For the moment, let's use the analogy of Jesus standing at the door and knocking in other areas of our lives. Perhaps it is appropriate to do just that, if you consider that God our Creator and Redeemer is the one who guides us and leads us to new opportunities. Do you and I always recognize events and situations in our lives as opportunities? Or are we tempted to get so caught up in negativity and misfortune that we miss the possibilities as they present themselves? I will be the first to admit that sometimes the latter comes more naturally.
Our faith response or lack thereof to Jesus' knocks at our door will have a lasting impact for the rest of our lives. So also, our response or lack thereof to opportunities in our lives carries the possibility of changing the course of the rest of our lives. It is true enough that these types of life changing events may happen more than once in the course of our lives. Over time, we certainly have the inner resources and the capabilities to recover from our failures either to respond at all or to respond correctly to opportunities as they are presented.
In the midst of my blog posting, I have written about following your dreams and living the life you imagined. Surely, there have been missed opportunities in my life, along with events and situations I never would have imagined. There have been pinnacle events and hard crashes. More than once I have, by the grace of God and with His help, risen from the ashes. Through it all, I have been a survivor who leaned on faith a whole lot more than people realize.
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. hese have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. " [1 Peter 3:6-9 NIV]
~ DB Turnmire
For the moment, let's use the analogy of Jesus standing at the door and knocking in other areas of our lives. Perhaps it is appropriate to do just that, if you consider that God our Creator and Redeemer is the one who guides us and leads us to new opportunities. Do you and I always recognize events and situations in our lives as opportunities? Or are we tempted to get so caught up in negativity and misfortune that we miss the possibilities as they present themselves? I will be the first to admit that sometimes the latter comes more naturally.
Our faith response or lack thereof to Jesus' knocks at our door will have a lasting impact for the rest of our lives. So also, our response or lack thereof to opportunities in our lives carries the possibility of changing the course of the rest of our lives. It is true enough that these types of life changing events may happen more than once in the course of our lives. Over time, we certainly have the inner resources and the capabilities to recover from our failures either to respond at all or to respond correctly to opportunities as they are presented.
In the midst of my blog posting, I have written about following your dreams and living the life you imagined. Surely, there have been missed opportunities in my life, along with events and situations I never would have imagined. There have been pinnacle events and hard crashes. More than once I have, by the grace of God and with His help, risen from the ashes. Through it all, I have been a survivor who leaned on faith a whole lot more than people realize.
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. hese have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. " [1 Peter 3:6-9 NIV]
~ DB Turnmire
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