Doors

This week I was reading Genesis.  In chapter 4, Cain and Abel both present their sacrifices to the Lord.  Cain brings an offering from his work in the fields.  Abel brings the first and best of his flocks.  God accepts Abel's offering but denies Cain's.  Cain becomes angry.

In verse 7, it says, "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you, but you must master it."

Crouching.  When I read that word, I remember being a kid and crouching down to hide from the neighborhood kids during a water gun war.  Or I think of a lion crouching down in the tall brittle grasses of a savanna, waiting for just the right moment to pounce on its prey.  To me, the word "crouching" is a sneaky word.

Genesis 4:7 says that "if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door and its desire is for you..."

Did you read that?  It's easy to do the right thing when everything is going well.  But when things in life are not going as planned, sin is like a lion crouching in your tall brittle thoughts, waiting for just the right moment to pounce on you.  It desires you.

In my lifetime, I must've read Genesis 4 at least 25 times.  But this time when I read it, the word "door" stood out to me, and I immediately thought of another verse that talks about a door.

Revelation 3:20 - "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 that person, and they with me."   

I was immediately struck with the difference between these 2 situations involving a door.  These 2 situations involving my heart.  (***Yes.  In case you missed it, the word "door" in these 2 verses is talking about your heart.***)

When things don't go my way, sin is sneakily crouching near my door just waiting for a weakness to slip in when I'm distracted by my selfishness.  

But not Jesus.  Do you see the difference?  Jesus stands BOLDLY at the door of my heart and knocks.  And when I open it, He not only comes in; He shares nourishment with me. ("I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.")  It's like when you're expecting company.  You clean your house, prepare a meal, and wait anxiously for them to come so you can open your front door and welcome them in.  

It all comes down to your door.  Are you hiding behind it while sin is crouching outside waiting for a weakness?  Or are you there anticipating Jesus' BOLD knock and ready to invite him in for nourishment?