[Photo by Seyed Amir Mohammad Tabatabaee on Unsplash]
The idea of an open door features prominently in the message to Philadelphia. Jesus tells us that he has the key of David and he promises them that he opens doors and no one will shut them and also shuts and no one will open them. This is telling me that my future is entirely in His control. He has the authority and the right to determine the destiny of the human race. As we discovered in our last study, these believers had found a door slammed shut in their faces. They were shut out of the synagogue and this was because of their loyalty to Jesus. The Jews who were bitterly opposed to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth expelled them from the synagogue and this would be a bitter blow for them. They would be cut off from family members, they would lose friends, they would lose business or employment.
But Jesus tells them about an open door which no one is able to shut. He draws their attention to this wonderful truth - he commands them to "behold" - to stop in their tracks and to gaze on this open door. He has set this open door before them. This is the door to heaven as it were and this is the door that really matters.
Paul frequently uses the expression 'open door' to mean an opportunity for evangelism. See 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3. Darrell Johnson has an interesting way of expressing this. "The open door" is the door of opportunity to tell others about "the gospel of the open door." He points out that the city was strategically well place to evangelise. The city was originally founded to be a base to spread the Greek language and culture to the whole world. It was going to be a base for a new campaign to tell the world about Jesus Christ.
It might seem the worst time for them to start to evangelise. After all, they were enduring persecution and Jesus was aware of their weakness - they had little power. Surely it was a time for what Darrell Johnson calls "the huddle mentality" - keeping a low profile until the storm blows over. They were being told that the door of opportunity is open and they did not need exceptional resources or limitless strength and energy. They needed to be loyal to Christ and to trust His grace completely.
Is there a lesson for us in the United Kingdom or wherever you are called to serve God. I had a conversation with a young man who was engaged in a recovery programme for addicts in a Christian organisation. I learned a great deal from the 15 minutes that we talked. I discovered that this guy was on a journey and his eyes were being opened by the experience he was having at this centre in a remote location. He had begun to appreciate that he had been brainwashed into accepting that there was no God. He had discovered that there was much more to life than material things. He was thrilled with what he had learned from God's word. He asked me why he had not been told about Jesus in his childhood and why there was so little emphasis on the Christian message at school. He was critical of our culture with its obsession with making money and indulging in pleasure.
On the journey back home, I reflected that I have been too timid and pessimistic. I have assumed that there is more apathy than there is. I have assumed that people are harder to reach than they are. I should have taken more opportunities to witness for my Lord and Saviour. I have underestimated the power of the message of the Gospel.
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