Jesus Waits

Have you ever wanted a GPS… but for your life? God’s voice—the inspirations of the Holy Spirit—are kind of like a Divine Garmin; the only problem is that we don’t always want to hear what He is saying. Or maybe we don’t understand what He is saying above the blaring “music” around us. I know that for me, there are times when I would rather hand over the wheel and just let God carry me down the road, but He loves us too much for that.

There is a well-known picture of our Lord, waiting outside a door, knocking. There are a few different versions, but I think the first time I saw it, it struck me as a bit silly. It isn’t exactly something you´ll see in the National Gallery of Art. Jesus is at a door, knocking… He is knocking at the door of our souls, of our minds, of our hearts, the door to “Me”. He wants in. He wants to be a part of our lives; not just on Sundays or every now and then through confession. He is calling, knocking, all the time, every day. Do we open to Him? Or, are you doing as I once did, pretending not to hear, drowning out His call with the infinite distractions that we have at our disposal?

The first time we really let that sink in, it is mind blowing. God, the Creator of the universe, is asking to come in to our lives. He comes to the door with an invitation, and He waits… He waits, but He will not wait forever. He calls in a concrete way, in the daily events that arise, but if we don’t open the door to that invitation, that opportunity will soon be gone.

It is of course true that God always forgives us, He will always receive us, even run out to meet us, like the father of the Prodigal Son. But, we aren’t just talking about the conversion from a life of sin; this is one of the most important truths of our lives as Christians. Jesus is very much alive, and just like the best friend we can imagine, He wants to be with us constantly and He makes Himself “dependent” on our answer. He is calling, knocking on the door every single day asking us to be part of His plan to make us saints and save souls. You see, our sanctity, our decision to be a saint will only happen with Jesus and in the moments of every day. If we don’t let Him in, how can we call ourselves Christians? How can we hope to be recognized by God in our times of need, or in that final moment of our life, if we never shared our life with Him? In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks clearly: “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father (that is, responds to My call).”

He will never force Himself into our lives. That is the other lesson of this painting. The door, you see, doesn’t have a knob. There’s no way to open the door from the outside. Jesus will only take part in our life if we want Him to, if we let Him. Jesus is calling. Will you answer? Will you let Him teach you how to glorify God with your life?