Is Jesus welcome for Dinner

      Thanksgiving is a great holiday, but it is more than just a day to eat a lot of great food.  It is a reminder of what we should be thankful for.  In it, we celebrate good food, precious family, fellowship with those we love, and our priceless freedoms.  It more than the meal.  It is more than entertaining.  It is the time to be close to those that mean the most.
    In this season of visiting and eating, there is another more important meal to which you are invited.  Jesus says to every man in Revelation 3:20, “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.”  We can learn a great deal about the human condition from this short verse. 
    First, notice that Jesus is outside the door of the person’s heart.  This is because our sins have separated between us and God.   Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” man is not basically good.  We have a sin nature and it will control us if we do not get the deliverance of God in our life.
    The good news is that God has made a way to take away our sin.  Jesus sacrificed Himself to wash away our sin.  But Jesus is a gentleman.  He still knocks.  Like all the people coming over for the Holidays, Jesus waits at the door until we come and welcome Him in.
    This is the wonderful thing about God’s salvation.  God does not expect up to face the challenges of our temptations, our sins, or even just the challenges of life alone.  Jesus is not satisfied to direct you from outside.  No, through the Holy Spirit, He comes into your life and heart if you are willing to just open the door.  He wants to see you through it all.  He wants to give you power to be victorious over every addiction even if it is just the addiction to sin.
    But the thing that most people miss about this verse in Revelation 3:20 is that Jesus does not only want to come in and be in our lives.  He wants to have communion.  This is what is meant by God’s desire to “sup” with us.  He wants to have spiritual supper with us.
    During the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is not just a meal that draws us to other people’s homes.  It is the desire to spend time with the people we love.  That is God’s desire too.  He knocks at your heart’s door because He wants to come into your life.  He waits for your answer, because He will not force His way in.  He wants to be close to you.  He wants to forgive everything that you have ever done against Him.  He wants to save us all from our selves and take us to Heaven.  But God’s ultimate goal is to have communion with us.  He wants us to be close to Him.  He wants the same communion that we crave with our families and friends during these holidays. 
    That is the miracle of the Gospel.  Jesus offers everything that we need for complete fulfillment in our life.  And just like a true gift of the holiday season, the gift of salvation is completely free.  You can not buy it.  It is Jesus knocking at the door of your heart.  You cannot pay Him to come in.  You cannot clean up your own life to make it acceptable to Him.  All you can do is open the door and let Him it.  He is better than your holiday guests.  He wants to clean up for you and with you.  You cannot make yourself acceptable to God by cleaning up your life.  You cannot clean yourself up to come to God.  You come to God so He can clean you up.
    Jesus is knocking at the door of your life.  Will you let Him in to dine with you?  Is Jesus welcome in your heart?  If you have never opened the door to Jesus and asked him to save you and come into life, why not pray right now a prayer like this:
    Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that has separated me from you.  But You died to wash away all my sin.  I hear you knocking at my heart’s door.  Please come into my life and forgive all my sin.  Please be the Lord of my life.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen