Locked Out

The door is locked.

“Open the door,” I command.

No response.

I intensify my voice and repeat, “Open the door!”

A murmur of words can be heard inside; something to effect of, “Hold on a minute.”

Usually I just unlock the door with the secret key, except that this time it’s not an inside door. My son and I are stuck in the garage while my daughter is inside going potty. She has locked the bottom handle as well as the deadbolt. Fantastic!

We’ve talked about what happens when she locks the doors on Mommy and Daddy. This unfortunately does not speed up the process of getting inside.

“Open the door now,” My words start to sound like a broken record, or perhaps a scratched CD. I add some hard bangs with my hand for emphasis.

A couple minutes pass as I refrain from yelling threats through the locked portal. Finally the click of a lock releasing can be heard.

“The top , the top,” I point out when the bottom handle is unlocked. After a few more metallic sounds, the door swings open. She stands looking at me with her eyebrows raised and scrunched shoulders. It is obvious that she knows that an unpleasant discussion is coming.

I get them some juice and turn a show on for my son while I relax for a moment.

“Come on, it’s time for a talk…”

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Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev 3:19-22)

I couldn’t help but think of this passage when reflecting on the event above.

It took some restraint and patience to wait while my lovely daughter got around to opening the door for me. While I sat in the garage waiting, she was briefly in control of the situation. She was inside with the power to unlock the door, yet she delayed.

It all seems pretty harmless on the surface. It was just a few minutes of time all alone inside our house, right? What if she got in trouble, hurt herself, got into something that was dangerous? I would have been hard pressed to help her. I could just see kicking the door in, or smashing through a window.

Sometimes I do this to God. I lock the door while I do something on my own terms and timeframe. The door always reopens at some point and there are consequences. Fortunately God is so much wiser than I in these circumstances. He always doles out the perfect discipline, love, and grace.

What if I am caught inside my own heart, locked up, and drowning in some sinful trap? God is all powerful, but when I lock the door I’m asking for big trouble. Not that he is going to discipline me, but the trouble that comes from not opening the door – Separation from “the light of life” until I do.

In Christ,
TD