In construction one can use doors of all kinds. There are flimsy, let the air in, doors for summer. These often have panels that can be replaced during the winter, letting light in yet providing a first line of defense from the elements. Behind these doors are the more solid ones. Weighing more than one person can lift; these doors are often intricately carved, solid, and resilient. Several different types of wood can be used, some are painted or varnished to achieve a high gloss, semi-natural color that will protect those inside from the elements. Although the door primarily serves a functional purpose, there is little about the ornate decoration that draws one to this conclusion. Single or double wide, these monuments of protection, pride, and welcome are a quiet reflection of those within. Doors often reveal far more than anyone involved realizes.
In this reflection I have often wondered about the gates to God and Heaven. Does God need protection from the elements? Is there something in Divinity’s home that God needs to protect with a door? Does someone or something cause God to tremble in fear? Is the door the answer to any and everything?
If one spends too much time on these questions, another will follow at some point. Why does God have a door at all? Why not just an entrance? Yet the record is clear. In the City of God’s design “the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate a single pearl.” (Revelation 21.21) Each gate is solid, beautiful, and impenetrable.
There are lessons that you and I can take from this.
An entrance is a choice. Those within the doors make a choice to let others in and out. Those outside the gate come through knowing that they come with permission and authority. Anything else is war!
Far too often I let any and everything into my life. Risking my soul, heart, and even life itself, I give away the keys with little thought. So today I will ask God’s angels to help me guard the entrance to my soul.
