Together in Christ: 'Open the Door of Your Heart' — Revelation 3:20

When Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to register for the census, no one offered them a room. ^[1] They stayed where animals slept. Joseph and Mary's family forced the newborn Messiah to be born in a stable. Remember, this was the ancestral family home for Joseph and Mary. ^[2] It was where all of their family members would have gone. In other words, their own family members would not invite them inside. They were alone; even their families rejected them.

The community and family rejection of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus rightly angers and saddens us. However, the Holy Spirit wants us to ask ourselves, "Have I left Jesus outside the door of my heart?" Please notice that this message is NOT directed to unbelievers. ^[3] Jesus gave this message to the members of the church in Laodicea who were lukewarm and disgusting to the Lord!sup> [4] He was begging them to let Him in the door of their hearts and their congregation to bring them life and hope again! Because they thought they were rich and "had it all," they allowed themselves to become spiritually poor. ^[5] They may have talked about Jesus frequently, but He wasn't their Lord, only their mascot. Their faith was on the verge of extinction. The Lord was on the brink of not recognizing them as His church! ^[6] In cornbread English, they were as bad — or maybe worse — than all those family members who refused to provide room for the Messiah a place to be born!

Please, dear brother or sister in Christ, let's open the door of our hearts to Jesus! Open the four gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Let's seek, learn, and obey the real Jesus! Let's invite Him into our lives and ask Him to live in us and do His work in us and through us. Jesus longs to come into our lives. He wants to be God's presence to live with us, sustain us, empower us, and provide us with lasting hope! ^[6] Jesus yearns to share life with us as our friend as well as our Lord.