Will You Open the Door? || John 14:23 || Manna for the Mind #105

Welcome to Day 105 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is John 14:23. We’ll discuss the love of Christ and how that love is found. I’ve added verse 22 for context.

John 14:22-23

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22 Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?	22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”	22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered, “If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him.	23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.	23 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood!

The disciples were expecting Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom to overthrow Rome. They still were confused about why he wouldn’t tell the world he was the Messiah. Judas was confronted by Judas, saying that those who truly loved him would know who he was. This makes no sense. Why wouldn’t Jesus come in “guns a-blazing” to share that he was who he was and that the world needed to figure it out? We must remember this KEY POINT: a relationship with God is not forced. If we were forced into this relationship, would it be healthy? Would we truly be happy in that relationship? No. We must be willing to engage and be intentional in a relationship with God, and God will respond with as much as we put in.

Only some, however, can and are willing to understand the message of Jesus. Ever since Pentecost, the Good News of the Kingdom has been proclaimed to the whole world, and still, not everyone is receptive to it. However, we’re experiencing a massive influx of false teachers. People who use the scriptures to push their own agenda to align themselves politically use the scripture to spread hate, predict the end times, and more. All these things, plus the weaponization of scripture against the people of the church from other Christians and against people of color, different genders, social status, sexual orientation, and other demographics, often separate us in our world. Jesus saves his deepest revelations of himself for those who are interested in a loving, compassion-filled relationship that we can share with the community around us. We need to share what it means to know, love, and obey him.

Ephesians 3:17 -19

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17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love	17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.	17-19 that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Livefull lives, full in the fullness of God.
18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];	18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].	19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will bemade complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

God’s love is complete and full, according to Paul. It reaches every corner of our experience. God’s love is wide, covering our experiences, and extends to the world. It can be found in everything we do and shared with everyone we pass by. God’s love is long, extending through our lives into eternity. We serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and our future generations will serve the same God then. God’s love is high, rising to the heights of our celebration and celebration. God’s love is deep, reaching to the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death. God wants us to share the good and bad stuff in life, and his love will cover it all! Remember that God’s love is always present when you feel alone or isolated. It’s important to understand that God’s love is not just a feeling, but a reality that we can experience and share with others.

John touches on the obedience side of following God in 1 John 5:3 (verse 4 is provided for context).

1 John 5:3-4

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3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey].	3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome	3 The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome.
4 For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].	4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.	4 Every God-born person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.

Jesus never promised that obeying him would be easy. The hard work and self-discipline of serving him won’t feel like a burden to those who are dedicated to the relationship. Even when it feels like a lot, Jesus reminds us that his way is light and the burden he asks us to carry is easy. While it’s a serious commitment to following him, Jesus ensures that he provides many loving and compassionate ways to help us on our path.

Revelation 3:20

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20 Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me.	20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.	20 “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you.

The Laodicean church, addressed here, was a complacent and rich church. They were self-satisfied and believed they didn’t need Christ’s presence among them. Jesus wanted to be present with them, internally and externally. Still, they would rather enjoy the world’s pleasures than pay attention to Jesus. The pleasures of the world – money, status, stuff, can be dangerous to us because their temporary satisfaction can make us indifferent to who God is and what he can offer.

If you find yourself feeling indifferent to church, to God, or to the Bible, you have begun to shut God out of your life. I want to touch on this as I walk through a time of hurt from the church. Granted, it’s not the entire church, but enough to make me feel like I’m not wanted there. I haven’t been to church since I started to reflect on that and what that means for me. It’s not that I’m feeling indifferent to church because I want to be at church, but I want to be at one that I feel wanted at. To feel rejected and looked down upon because of the sinful decision I made 1.5 years ago still hurts, but it is what it is. I can’t control others, but I can control how I respond. I’m learning how God is healing my heart. I’m learning how God wants me to respond. I’m learning to listen where God wants me to be. The door to my heart is always open for God to do work in me, and I know that, while the work is hard, the fulfillment will occur.

Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts because he wants to save and have fellowship with us. He patiently and persistently waits for us to open the door. He allows us to decide whether to open our lives to him and welcome him in. What will you decide?

Father God, thank you for what you’ve revealed to us about who you are and who your son was. We often don’t take seriously what your teachings mean for us in our lives. Encourage us to open that door. We know that you leave it as a choice for us, but that choice is so worth the decision. The door leads to a new life full of love, compassion, and eternal life! It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.