Looking In

“Behold I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me.” – Rev. 3:20

Let me take you back to when I was 12 on my newspaper route in the middle of winter during a North Dakota blizzard. As I snowplowed my way down the sidewalks, I looked like Frosty the Snowman waddling up to each house.  It was dark, bitter cold, the wind was whipping around the streetlights, and the snow began to form deep banks throughout the neighborhood streets. It was not fit for man nor beast…but the newspaper had to be delivered, and I was up against the deadline to collect payments from customers. I stood on the doorstep of one home, pressing the doorbell, and looking inside at the warm glow.  The fireplace was crackling with the aroma descending out from the chimney, an older couple sipped on something hot, chips and pretzels were nearby as they watched Monday Night Football.  I could hear the sports commentator call out “Earl Campbell for the Houston Oilers is unstoppable…” No one came to the door.  I lingered there with ice forming on my eyebrows longing to join this family, to shed my snow crusted gear, warm up by the fire with a hot drink and watch Earl Campbell rumble through the defenses. I knocked on the door and called out “Newspaper”. No response. They couldn’t hear me through the wind outside and the game and crackling fire within. Too cold to take off my gloves and knock again, I placed the paper inside the screen door and trudged onto the next house.

That childhood memory has stuck in my limited brain because of the stark contrast of that moment between the bitter cold and having to complete a job with the relaxing warmth of comfort, food, hot drink and Monday Night Football. It’s probably one reason why I love to watch football today. At that moment there could have been nothing I desired more then to join them in their living room. I think of this desire of Jesus as he stands at the door of our lives this Christmas season.

With all of our Christmas season activity with work parties, get-togethers with friends, baking holiday treats, frantic shopping, attending special events and performances, trying to find the perfect “ugly Christmas sweater”, making time to watch Elf, or Jingle All the Way, and preparing for the big day with family, do we hear Jesus knock and call out to us? Are we so busy with our lives that we have shut the door to Christ and He is left standing outside looking in? Does he see us preoccupied with our stuff, worries and celebrations? He desires to join us beside the fire and be in our presence with laughter or tears, for joy or comfort, but the door is shut.

Open the door to Jesus this Christmas. Invite Him into your celebrations, your work, your home, your family…your life.  To the world this time of the year is Happy Holidays – spend, drink and be merry. To the Christian this is an opportunity to remember to open the door of Christ into our lives with the hope, joy and peace only He can offer. When we worship Christ during Christmas we proclaim the reason for the season and become a testimony to our friends, co-workers, neighbors and family.