Doors

John 10:7-10

I love watching HGTV… House Hunters and My First House are my favorites. Yesterday, however, I watched Curb Appeal, and was aghast! The designers decided to paint the door on a beautiful red-brick colonial a bright yellowy-orange. I admit I am not a bright color person when it comes to houses, but this just didn’t fit the style of the house. I was okay with the mosaics on the steps and the cobalt blue shutters…but the door??? The decorators said it made the house stand out as being different! Well, it did…like a clown among Junior Leaguer’s! I don’t think the owners liked it either…but there is was in all its bright gaudiness.

Doors are important. While walking my dog in our neighborhood, I like to look at people’s front doors. I notice some are solid wood, (and thankfully not a single bright yellow one in the lot!) some are all glass…the kind that will let you see an itsy bitsy bit into the front room, (not that I strain to look in, mind you) and others are half and half but they all serve the same purpose: entrances to the owner’s house. Some are more inviting and reveal the personality of those who live there…they say either, “welcome” or “go away.” Some, I have noticed, have the watermarks of past storms and need a fresh coat of stain or paint while some glass doors have broken panes…perhaps from a flying rock or an incident from inside. A few have screen door to allow breezes in while preventing pests. Doors…a lot to think about.

We lived in the country for a short while in Atwater and I loved our back screen door. It was the kind that squeaked from the metal coiled spring that made sure that the door closed with a loud bang after I ran out. There was comfort in that sound…it was automatic…I didn’t have to think about closing the door. Life was simple then. Perhaps you have a similar memory.

As adults, we are still faced with doors…oh, not the ones in our neighborhood but the ones of life. Satan’s doors look exciting, painted a bright yellowy-orange, and seem to offer excitement and adventure but end up being a great disappointment. Because of Jesus, I have learned to avoid most of those doors while others still give me pause! They are the ones which are closed tight…locked never to be opened no matter how much I want to go through them. Lost dream doors… things I really wanted out of life but just didn’t happen for one reason or another. To be honest, sometimes I stand at these doors and regret what could have been, but most of the time I move to other doors…it is my choice. Then there are the doors of faith…those that give just a glimpse of what is inside…but not the whole “room.” We only see colors and shapes…should we enter or not? These doors take courage to go through! The storm-weathered doors are among all of these…reminding me that He has been faithful!

But my favorite life-door is His screen door…the one that is never locked. When I enter this door, I find refreshment and safety and am free to go out with wild abandon knowing I have a secure place to return. Jesus is that door…our scripture today uses the word “gate” another word for door. The more we get to know this “door” the less we want to enter that brightly colored, exciting-looking door. We know this door is the door that opens to His abundance. This is the door of our dreams! This is the door that turns faith into sight and where we get the stain to freshen up the brittle storm-tossed doors.

What door is is in front of today? May I suggest that you open His door, get some lemonade and rest with Him for awhile? He has some great stuff to share with you about all your doors!