“Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!”  Revelation 3:20-21 (MSG)

We have three (yep, three) rescue dogs.  All mutts.  All different in size, shape and personality.  ‘Rosie’ is the oldest and a Chiweenie.  Part Chihuahua and part Dachshund.  ‘Pennie’ is the middle dog and was rescued by our son from the dog pound.  We have no idea what her genetic makeup is.  ‘Remington’ (Remi) is the youngest and was found under and overhang of our neighbor’s barn, cold, wet and a young puppy.  He is part Great Pyrenees and part Golden Retriever.

A dog’s life at our home is a pretty good life.  Two square meals a day.  Treats any time you come in from going to the bathroom (outside) and treats if one of your fellow dog mates goes ‘potty.’  Couches to lay on and systematically destroy.  Toys to play with, squirrels to bark at and chase, UPS, USPS and Amazon drivers to greet with resounding barking of welcome…maybe!  Human food to share.  Acres upon acres of land to run and if you’re Remi, a pond to swim in and chase the fish.  Life is good as a dog here.

Then there’s the front door.  The conduit to the outside.  The outside full of adventure and relief.  Smells, sounds, escape from the mundane.  Risk.  Did I mention risk.  The front door is also the riskiest part of being a dog in the Mullins house.  (Megan is not convinced that the three are dogs.  She prefers to elevate them to human status as she talks with them and asks them questions, to which I ask her if they ever answer?  “They know what I am saying” is her response.)

You see, the front door is the gateway to the great outdoors for our dogs, but also the barrier to the inside of our house.  Truth be known, the door is the likeliest place that our dogs will not be heard and will be forgotten during to busyness of life occurring inside the house.  Pennie will softly and systematically scratch until we let her in, standing there as long as it takes to be heard.  Remi will start off softly scratching and ratchet up the intensity of his scratching until someone lets him in.  Rosie starts off with intense and insistent scratching the minute she wants in and in truth, is the hardest to forget about or ignore.  The bottom line is the door is our dogs gateway to freedom and barrier to the comfortable climate of care and showers of love.

For some reason as I read my Bible this morning, I was overwhelmed with the awareness and comfort that we do not have to knock more than once or loudly on Heaven’s door. The Father always hears us the first time.  The Son died so that we might be heard always and ensured eternal life the minute we ask, the first time, without the need for continual knocking.  The Spirit invades us when we simply, quietly and completely surrender our body, our mind and our life to Him.  It only requires one knock and a step.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)

We love our dogs and they love us.  They are marvelous gifts from our ever-loving Father in Heaven.  They are a training ground for our children and a source of unconditional and limitless love if we care for them as they deserve like all precious things entrusted to us in this life.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”  Luke 11:9-14 (NIV)

God’s door is always open and our knock always heard.  He hears you.  He invites you in.  He unconditionally loves you and forgives all sin and failings.  He is the Restorer.  He is the assigner of purpose.  He forgives and he forgets.  He loves beyond our human ability to understand.  He greets with arms wide open.  Just knock once and He will let you in.

You’ve got this.