revelation 3:20 - meditation on an open door.

[2eclipse]

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

this is a passage i would love to see christians remember. christians on the right and christians on the left.
God stands at the door and knocks.
He does not force.
He offers us the gift of his love and companionship.
He waits for our hard hearts to turn toward Him.
He blesses us in our struggling with understanding Him.
and He waits.

for those of us on the right, how can we say to someone, "you are not my brother." how can the eye say to the hand, "i don't need you." how can we refuse to be in conversation with those who are our brothers and sisters in christ - even when they take bible stories metaphorically instead of literally, even when they take members of the same sex for their partners, even when they teach their children gnosticism and universalism and unitarianism and refuse to be orthodox, when they worship their own independence instead of God, even when they seem to make choices with no sound reasoning....
for those of us on the left, how can we say to someone,"you are not my brother." how can the eye say to the hand, "i don't need you." how can we refuse to be in conversation with those who are our brothers and sisters in christ - even when they take bible stories literally and try to shove them down our throats, even when they wound we who love those of the same sex, even when they teach their children materialism and nationalism and idolotry of every kind that does not hurt their pocketbook, when they worship their own independence instead of God, even when they seem to make choices with no thought to their heartlessness.
God did not do so when He was with us and He does not do so now. He stands at the door and knocks, and waits for you and i to open the door.

x-posted to christianleft and christian_geek

Comments

[librissimma.livejournal.com]

Thank you for challenging me with this, as I have a tendancy to stand on one side of the door and wag my fingers to those on the other side of the door without noticing that perhaps neither of us has gone through the door where perhaps we can meet in the middle where it's about worshiping God and saying Alleluia for her transforming, regenerating power to make us the whole creatures he intended us to be.

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

no problem. posting stuff like this is my way of reminding myself that i also need to open the door.

[wanderingbastet.livejournal.com]

I think if more Christians heeded this, instead of doing the battering-ram-at-the-door philosophy of sharing theology, I might be more inclined to listen. ;-)

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

thanks for your encouragement.
i am grateful when i can post about my faith in a way that opens christianity up instead of offending people of other faiths, atheists and agnostics.

[wanderingbastet.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever heard you say anything that could be considered offensive. There's absolutely nothing wrong with sharing your faith and beliefs with your friends - especially not on your own journal! As I've said before, I may not necessarily subscribe to the same beliefs, but I do enjoy reading about others' thoughts. IMO, anyone who's offended by something like this is... well, not someone I'd waste much time arguing with. :-)

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

:)
i don't know if you know this, but i consider it to be part of my call to heal wounds caused by people who use their faith like a sledgehammer and speak out for a kinder, more loving (and in my belief TRUER) christianity. i don't expect people to agree with me, but i DO hope to educate people that fundamentalists don't have a monopoly on christ. :) part of that is acknowledging my own tendency to judge people (like the mormons currently being endicted for child abuse and polygamy) and say "you are not christian and you are not worthy of God"....and while i DO believe the LDS church to practice heresy....what i'm truly offended by is that someone might confuse their faith with mine because they call themselves christians...they are clearly breaking the law, but i have to challenge myself when my instincts are more offended by this than say, a muslim beating his child....WHY i am offended matters and the degree to which i am offended must be moderated if i am to be true to my beliefs.....see there you got me thinking again. you do that a lot, when we talk, you know.
regardless, i appreciate your comments. they make me feel like a success.

[wanderingbastet.livejournal.com]

Well good. Glad to help. :-) Having been married to a (non-practicing) Mormon, I've gotta say I have NO sympathy whatsoever for the folks in Texas. At least not the men - I have sympathy for the women, because it's a religion that's basically founded on misogyny. (I know that's not the foundation of their belief system, of course, just a symptom thereof. But still.) But on that subject, I really don't know what I'd DO with all those kids and their mothers. They've been so secluded and sheltered - would it be better to just throw them into foster care? Should they be taken away from their mothers in the first place? Is it the fault of the mothers for not standing up to their entire community and going against everything they've been taught? Oy. It's such a mess.

All I really know is that when I eventually have kids, I'll probably not raise them in any particular religious belief system, but I will do everything in my power to teach them basic humanity, morals, and open-mindedness. I want to be able to show them that there's love and beauty in the world, no matter what particular beliefs anyone might hold.

Heheh. See, now you've got ME being all philosophizin' and such. ;-)

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

See, now you've got ME being all philosophizin' and such. ;-)

teehee. guess we're just good for each other. :)
i don't have any sympathy for what happened in texas either, but i think you're right to have some for the women. some of the mothers involved are only 13 years old - hence the child abuse.
but like every other religion, i've met good mormons and bad. i've even worked for one who was WONDERFUL. it's just easier for me not to be so hateful if i pretend they are a separate religion instead of affiliated with christianity. i need to work on that.

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

also for what it's worth, i think you'd be a good mom.

[wanderingbastet.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That means a lot to me. I'm certainly not ready *right now* (there's that pesky lack of a husband thing ;-)), but the idea has been creeping in more often of late... Stupid hormones. :-D

I think my biggest problem with the Mormons is the same as for any religion in general that preaches an our-way-is-the-only-way philosophy. Without solid proof one way or the other, I believe there has to be some wiggle room, and acknowledgment that other beliefs might hold as much validity. Which doesn't mean, of course, that you can't try to convince them YOURS is right, I just don't think we ought to go to war over it. Yanno? It's all about just being decent to each other, no matter what you believe.

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

i whole-heartedly believe what you say about not going to war and being decent to one another.
the all-religions-created-equal thing could be a LONG discussion at some point. for now i will say i believe all major religions have a grain of truth and that christianity does not have a monopoly. however i also believe it is CLOSEST to the truth...otherwise there would be no point in my believing in it...i'd go find one closer.

[wanderingbastet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's easy enough for me, a die-hard agnostic, to say "hey! everybody's right! (within reason)" but it's a bit more difficult to reconcile a staunch belief in one particular system with tolerance for other possibilities. I guess you have to say "I think I'm right, but respect your right to think that YOU're right." Or something to that effect, anyway. Agreeing to disagree while still putting a limit on the point where someone's belief passes over that line of "human decency." I dunno. I have a great respect for those who are able to hold fast to their beliefs while still being open-minded and tolerant of others.

[frog-lady.livejournal.com]

I just want to mention that I also appreciate the way you talk about your religion.

[2eclipse.livejournal.com]

thanks!

[keisolo.livejournal.com]

Things like this make me more hopeful.