Open the Door

You’re sitting at home and the doorbell rings. You answer the door to find a man standing there, holding a briefcase. He smiles and says, “Congratulations!” He goes on to tell you that you’ve won $1 million and all you have to do is reach out and take it. He holds out the briefcase containing the $1 million, but you pause just long enough to ask, “What’s the catch?” He informs you that there is no catch, “Just reach out and take it” he says again.

$1 million, no catch, all you have to do is reach out and accept it. Would you take it?

Friends, none of us in our right minds would decline such as offer. We’d take the money, yet when it comes to God’s offer of salvation people hold back. Why? Maybe because they think there’s a catch, after all, the world constantly tells us that nothing’s free. Let’s face it, how many times have we heard, “If you want to be saved then do this and this” or “God’s offer of salvation is free but…”?

When I first became a Christian I remember one ill-informed believer telling a crowd at a Christian concert, “First you need to get clean and then God will save you.” Funny, I thought, I’m sure that God’s gift of salvation is for all and is offered free and unconditionally.

People once asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” He continued by saying, “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” (John 6:28-29; 40)

The only thing Jesus says is required to gain eternal life, and thereby be saved, is to believe in Him. No hoops to jump through, no hurdles to jump over, in fact no jumping at all. Just believe and gain the gift.

Jesus says, “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.” (Rev.3:20) Again, there are no prerequisites, save that we open the door when we hear Him knocking and calling out our name.

Listen.

Listen closely.

Is Jesus knocking at the door of your heart? Is He calling out to you to let Him in? Jesus is not like a door to door sales person, selling their cheap wares for above average prices. He’s not asking you sign a contract with Him in which you agree to do “such and such” to gain what He has to offer. And there is no repayment plan.

What Jesus is offering is free.

Going back to the story I began this FaithBlog with: If a man was standing at your door offering you $1 million with no catches whatsoever, would you take it? Well, what Jesus is offering is much more than $1 million or $1 billion; in fact it’s infinitely more than $1 trillion. What Jesus is offering cannot be bought at any price and it most definitely cannot be earned. It’s free and it’s ours, if only we would open the door and believe.

Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
November, 2008

Image by David Schauer