I Stand by the Door - Homeword - December 7
I Stand by the Door
This devotional was written by Jim Burns
I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. —John 10:9 RSV
Sam Shoemaker spent his life helping people find new life and meaning in Jesus Christ. He had a special love for those who had never made a commitment to Jesus Christ. One day, he sat down to write his philosophy of life and he penned this work of prose:
I stand by the door. I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out. The door is the most important door in the world- It is the door through which men walk when they find God. There's no use my going way inside, and staying there, When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find is only the wall where a door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind men, with outstretched, groping hands. Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, yet they never find it… So I stand by the door. The most tremendous thing in the world is for men to find that door-the door to God.*
Do you know someone who needs to be introduced to the new life that Jesus Christ offers? Maybe you are the one to introduce them to your Lord. Since I know that in Christ people can find new life, why am I so shy about introducing them to the source of new life? If I really love them, I'll give them the same opportunity to come in the door and meet the Master that I have had. How about you? Is it time to hang around the door and make some introductions?
GOING DEEPER:
1. Who do you know who needs to be introduced to Jesus Christ? What’s keeping you from helping them out?
2. Reread Sam Shoemaker’s thoughts and then pray for an opportunity to do some introducing!
FURTHER READING:
* Helen Smith Shoemaker, I Stand By The Door (Waco: Word, 1978), preface.
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