Jesus Wants to Sit Down and Be With You
“All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me. I will grant the one who conquers permission to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Revelation 3:19–21 NET Read More
We don’t experience hospitality and honor the way people did in the ancient East. The excitement of having someone over to your house for dinner is exciting, but maybe not awe-inspiring. Think about maybe the first time you had your in-laws over to your new house, or midway through your first day at a new job when the owner came by to welcome you to the business. This is the kind of person that you know that you’d better stand up, without hesitation, when they come in the room.
When the Vice President traveled around southeast Asia a few weeks ago, many of the pictures were other presidents and prime ministers sitting with him. In the ancient eastern world, to have dinner with someone was political. It showed you approved of them and were allied with them. For the God of all creation to say that He desires to eat with you is a big deal! Even more, the fact that He is coming to your house to eat is also a big deal. He isn’t giving orders on how to prepare for Him, He just wants you to open the door when He knocks.
Jesus goes one step more. Not only does He want to come into your house and eat with you, but He also wants to have you come and sit next to Him on His throne! The thing that Satan tried to rebel and claim is now given to you freely because of the grace of God. People that read this in John’s day, and somewhat in all of history up until the last couple hundred years, would be stunned by this promise. The throne of a king was revered. It was symbolic of the entire kingdom over which the king ruled. The throne would be the thing that armies would talk of upholding, defending, taking, and inheriting. To sit next to a king on his throne could only be done by the best of friends or the closest family member.
Jesus loves us very much. He corrects us and calls us to repent from evil out of love for us. He has already taken away our sin on the cross. Conquering, repenting, being earnest are all things that bring out the best in the Christian life. The next time fear, discouragement, or other temptations come your way, remember that the God of the Universe is knocking on your door. He wants to show you that He loves and approves of you and that He wants to share life with you at the highest levels of His kingdom.
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