The Guest of the Heart
J. A. Kerr Bain, M. A. 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… I. THE STRANGER-GUEST WANTING TO COME IN. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." 1. When a stranger comes to your door, it matters a good deal to your feeling as a host whether he be a mean man or a great one. An inhospitable act done to your Queen might never vex you at all if it was only done to an obscure wanderer. Who, then, is this? Is He mean? or is He great? He does not look very great in the starlight. But He is. At home He is worshipped, and wields all command; and beings before whom the mightiest of the earth are as infants, only venture to bow themselves at His feet when their faces are shielded from the lustre of His glory. 2. When a stranger comes to your door, it is a consideration for you whether he has come to a door only, or to your door; whether he has come to your door by chance, or to yourself on purpose. Has this Stranger, then, just happened upon this cottage-door as one that serves His turn as well as any other? or does He mean to seek this very home and this very board, if haply He may be welcomed as a friend? How deeply does He mean it, and how tenderly! 3. When a stranger comes to your door, it is of some moment to you whether he has come but a short distance to see you, or has come from far. This waiting Stranger — whence comes He? From another country? He has come from another world. Through peril, through tribulation, He has come hither. 4. When a stranger comes to your door, it is a thing of influence with you whether your visitor is in earnest to get in, or shows indifference, and soon gives up the endeavour. A caller who knocks and goes off again before you have had reasonable time to answer. 5. When a stranger comes to your door, it is of every consequence to you what may be the character of himself, and the complexion of his errand. Is he good, and likely come for good? or is he evil, and likely come for evil? What far-brought tidings, what peace, what hopes, what aids, what influence, he fetches with him! II. THE STRANGER-GUEST GETTING IN. "If any man hear My voice, and open the door." 1. The Stranger did not force an entrance. It is from the inside, after all, that a man's heart opens to his Saviour-King. 2. At the same time it is of the utmost importance to note, that the transaction, with this indispensable element of free choice in it, is the veriest simplicity. "If any man hear," "and open" — lo! it is accomplished, and the Son of God is within. Very natural it may be — after you have at last acknowledged the Voice by some beginnings of faith, and have arisen at its call to bustle long about the apartment in a process of rearranging, cleansing, tidying, adorning. Not less natural it may be to sit down, after a desponding glance around you, and endeavour to devise some plan by which you may entertain the Guest more worthily. All the while, and all the same, your Guest is standing without. The one luckless fact is the tardiness of your hospitality. The honour is done Him by nothing but by letting Him in. And more: your heart-home will only be made fit for His presence by His presence. 3. But there may be some one who is saying with a certain sincerity, "I have tried to open my heart to Christ, and I could not — cannot!" It will baffle your own strength. But what of your Guest Himself, and that power of His — so freely available now? III. THE STRANGER-GUEST IN. "I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." It is a scene with much light in it, and an atmosphere of security and deep peace. (J. A. Kerr Bain, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. WEB: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.