I currently use decorative doors for my booth display when participating in events. What started as a cute enhancement to add dimension and draw the eye upward from my table, later revealed itself as another facet of this ministry and mission to draw eyes “upward” from the tables of our hearts to God. It all started with One Door.
While the painting that could be considered the genesis piece of this business was, in fact, of a door inspired by Revelation 3:20, the One Door to which I’m referring is not one of canvas and paint nor for decorative purposes. No, this One Door is of far greater value and worth than all the combined contents of every gallery worldwide. One can assume that because of this value there would be a labyrinth of security measures in place, yet access to this Door is open and free. Think about the doors you go through on a given day. The number is many, no doubt, especially if you consider the metaphoric. Yet none is more important than this One that remains open and free. This Door is Christ. (John 10:1-11)
Now, before you click away because it’s beginning to sound too “religious”, like it or not, believe in Him or not, this is the true account of how this business started and continues – nothing will change that. I’m not fond of “religious” practices – I’m fond of Him and my hope is that you see the difference. There is no stronger foundation on which this business could be built, therefore I can think of no better way to showcase and attribute the interweaving of His purpose in this business than with the theme of a door.
Biblical history houses a series of monumental doors that, upon even light studying, all point to the person and work of Christ. Even if one doesn’t believe in Him or thinks this whole thing sounds a bit cheesy, one could still easily see the historical connection in just a few references. Jesus said “I am the door of the sheep… If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7,9). In biblical times, shepherds rested in the entryway to the sheepfold, thereby making himself a door to keep his sheep safe. As the good Shepherd (John 10:11), Jesus said He would willingly die for the sheep, pointing to His sacrificial death on the cross – the ONLY means by which a person can be saved from the penalty of sin that separates us from God. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; nobody can come to God the Father except through Christ (John 14:6). Hey look, a Door reference.
You may know the basics of Adam and Eve: how they walked in the perfect world the Lord created in close fellowship with God, where He told Adam that the penalty for sin is death – not just physical but spiritual death resulting in separation from God forever. Because He is holy, He must judge sin (that which is not holy). By one man (Adam), sin (thereby death and separation from God) entered this world (Romans 5:12). We have ALL rebelled against God and deserve sin’s punishment. Sound harsh? It’s truth. Romans 3:23 says “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ‘All’ means all, and that’s all ‘all’ means. But a “death” penalty?! Yes. Romans 6:23 says “the wages (payment) for sin is death…” Wait, where’s the grace? Doesn’t God have mercy? YES, thankfully! Romans 6:23 continues …”BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus.” There’s that Door again. That gift of eternal life is spiritual, adopting us as God’s own, no longer separated from Him. How? You see, God SO loved the world that He sent His Son to take sin’s punishment by dying as our substitute on the cross (John 3:16). Jesus paid our penalty, in full. Christ died for sins once for all, so that He might bring us to God.
Ok, so how can we know Christ’s death on the cross actually and sufficiently paid the penalty? What if it was all for nothing?
After His death on the cross, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, exactly as He’d promised. (This is what Easter is really all about.) He conquered death. The resurrection confirmed that Jesus Christ was precisely who He claimed to be – the Son of God. And we don’t just have to take the word of a few – He was seen by hundreds of people who verified He was indeed risen. Jesus’ various appearances include on the first day to Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Joanna, Peter, two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the disciples (Thomas was absent), then 8 days later to all the disciples (this time Thomas is present), after which several times He made His presence known to the disciples, and not just His own followers but at one point He was seen by over 500 people at once, then James, and after His ascension He made Himself known to Saul of Tarsus (Paul). (John 20, Luke 24, Matthew 28:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7) Luke, a doctor mind you, records in Acts chapter 1 that Christ’s ascension occurred 40 days after the resurrection. Jesus had plenty of time to be seen and many recorded their accounts. Such a supernatural miracle, which could only be by the hand of God, demonstrated Christ’s power over sin and death, guaranteeing the hope of eternal life to all who turn from their sins and believe in Him.
The only way to be saved from the eternal consequences of our sin is to enter through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14), turning from sin, and calling on the Son of God who gave His life for you, asking that He would give you His Spirit so that you can understand. This is the realm of the supernatural and spiritual, and the only hope for us is that the Holy Spirit would come to open our eyes to the blessed truth, because our natural intellect cannot grasp it.
In his book, “Saved in Eternity”, Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains: “The Holy Spirit gives assurance of our acceptance and our forgiveness. He is a seal given to us to show that we belong to God. He testifies with our spirits that we are the children of God. …the Holy Spirit has been given in order that we might be certain (Romans 8:16).”
The work of the Spirit is to make us certain He is there, so when we speak to Him, and He to us, the Spirit makes Him real, and He is formed in us. It is all very real and was most certainly not all for nothing. That’s how we can know.
There is only one “door” that can save us from eternal judgment. Jesus Christ is that Door. Christ came to die for sinners, to do what we could not do for ourselves, and the first work of the Spirit is to convict of sin. We come to Christ for salvation after the Spirit has opened our eyes to sin – Jesus Christ is the answer to our need. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open (Revelation 3:7). Don’t let this be a shut door in your life. He stands at the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). By faith, TODAY, enter the only Door that leads to eternal life – the MOST important Door you will ever face.
