As you know, this blog site is entitled An Open Door. The title is taken from a phrase embedded in Revelation 3:8,” Behold I have set before you an open door “. I referenced in my  About the Blog section that I had written more on these verses. Here is a very personal reflection on this verse and how it was a significant impetus in creating this blog.

This is the full text of Revelation 3:8

I know your works.

Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut.

I know that you have but little power,

And yet you have kept my word

And have not denied my Name.

The words, “I know”, are the ones that stopped me short as I read this. Jesus was speaking through John to the church of Philadelphia. The Spirit of Jesus was speaking through the words of John to me.” I know. I know you. I know your capabilities. I know your works, that you have been writing for years about the things that I have shown you.” 

“And I know that you have but little power.”  In thinking about compiling my written pieces into a blog, this was absolutely accurate. I am technologically challenged to say the least. If God was leading me to create a blog, it seemed to be an unconquerable task given my aversion to most endeavors that require some computer proficiency. 

The “I knows” don’t stop there, however.” I also know that you have kept my word and I know that you have not denied my name.” This is true of my intentions and sometimes my actions. My intention is to obey the God I love and to live in such a way that honors who He is. I have certainly not always lived according to my intentions, but there are times that I have. These phrases acknowledged and even validated my true heart’s desire.

So then we came back to the open door, which for me was the invitation to put my writings into a blog. “I know you are afraid to do this, I know you think that you are incapable, I know that you want to obey me, I know that you want to honor my name. I know it all. I also know that I am holding the door open for you, I, the One who has a habit of choosing weak vessels to display My power. Will you trust Me and cross the threshold of this open door that I have set before you?”

You now know the answer, but you don’t know the process. I needed help, a lot of help. My wonderful daughter-in-law Lucia, my husband Michael, my son Evan, my accountability buddy Ruth, my soul sister Jenny and many others have carried me over the threshold.

What about you? Is there an open door set before you? Has it been there for quite some time, held open by the patient and yet persistent Doorkeeper? Have you been telling Him all the reasons why you cannot possibly step through? Has He been countering with His “I knows”? Then perhaps it is time.

— MM

This particular snow fell when the temperature hovered just around 32 degrees. As a result, it was a sticky snow which clung to every surface on which it fell. Out in front of our house is a mature maple tree with sturdy outstretched limbs which support a multitude of branches which in turn carry hundreds of twigs. As a result of the sticky snow, every one of these was perfectly piled with as much snow as each could possibly carry. It was truly a stunning sight. As I looked longer, I noticed that the underside of all of the limbs, branches and twigs remained uncovered by the snow. Of course, snow falls from above, not below.

 In that moment came a realization, no doubt from God the Spirit; from my vantage point, which is below the tree, I still see unadorned brownish gray limbs. If I could look down from above however, all I would see is white.

As I stand below at the base and I look up at the branches of my life, I see the raw and rough bark of my humanity, I see the wounds of lightning strikes, the dead branches that still hang off the trunk, healed over scars from limbs that long ago detached. While I can see the white of the snow draping over the edges, the uncovered blemished bark is in full view. 

But what would I see if I looked from above? Nothing but white. Does it mean that the rough undersides do not exist? Of course not, but they are covered. Could this be how God sees us when we receive His gift of forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son?

 Is this what God was saying through Isaiah when he wrote, “Though your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as white as wool.” Isa. 1:8

Is this what God was prefiguring when the Israelites put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts so that the angel of death might not see what was below and pass over?

Was this what John the Baptist alluded to when he announced the arrival of Jesus at the Jordan River as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?

Is this what John the apostle reminded the first disciples of when he wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?

I cannot even tell you how many times this picture of the snow-laden tree has come to mind. I have lied, I have judged, I have said something hurtful , I have been angry, impatient, I have felt ashamed, unworthy. Nevertheless what does God say about how He sees me? I see the ugly branches. Do You really still see the snow? Am I truly robed in the righteousness of Christ my savior. The image of the snow- draped maple tree in my front yard adds a powerful visual to the promises of scripture.

“For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2Cor.5:21

 His view is the true view no matter what I see from below.

What about you? How does this picture of a pure white tree help you to believe that that sin, that thing that seems so unforgivable, when brought to Christ and confessed, is covered by the blood of the Lamb of God and made white as snow? The One who dwells above sees from above – white as snow.

–MM