The ‘school report’ to the rest of the churches continues in
Revelation chapter 3. At the end (v19) we discover God’s motivation: Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
So be earnest and repent. God’s love for us impels Him to urge us to
repent. And yet he does not force or coerce in any way – it must be our free
choice: 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 that person, and
they with me
(v20). These words always make me think of Holman Hunt’s famous painting The Light of the World, showing Christ
knocking at the door of our “obstinately shut mind”. The door looks like it has
never been used and is chocked by weeds that Hunt described as the cumber of daily neglect, the accumulated
hindrances of sloth. Crucially there is no handle on Christ’s side of the
door – he cannot let himself in -
it will take a deliberate and conscious act of will on our part to open the
door. Although this verse is often used in the context of conversion, in
Revelation 3 it comes directly after the judgement of the seven churches – i.e.
it is very much a message for Christians like us. Are there doors in our minds or lives that we
have yet to open to the risen Christ?
(member of the congregation)