Day 219, Year 1

Seize the Time to be Known by the Lord

… “When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from.'” (Luke 13:25 NKJV)

As mentioned previously, Jesus’ invitation for us to strive to enter through His narrow door of salvation is really urgent. Thus, accepting Jesus is not only about working hard, but also about seizing His timing. When someone misses His appointed time and the door is closed, there will be no more opportunity for him or her to accept Him. Similarly, some believe that there is a timing and a time limit for serving God as well. Besides, when some people hear Jesus’ knock on their doors multiple times but choose not to open them, they will surely regret it when Jesus returns. Thus, when you hear His knocking, open your door of heart promptly. With His guidance and help, change yourselves and strive to enter His narrow door.

After entering through His door, according to today’s verse, one of the most important things is to be known by Jesus. This is the most crucial task when we dine with Him. How can we be known by Jesus? We can first report all our major thoughts and decisions to Him, along with the reasons behind them. In this process, we are usually able to discover how other people or things in the past have influenced us, which helps us to understand ourselves better. We can rely on Him and His truth to change all our false or foolish beliefs and ideas, allowing Jesus to become our master. We who let the Lord thoroughly know ourselves will naturally change our thoughts, feelings, and decisions.

Changing ourselves according to Jesus’ will can let us know clearly that we come from the Heavenly Father. Today’s verse says that the Lord will reject those whom He does not know where they come from. They are likely to reject the Heavenly Father as the origin of their lives and instead identify other creatures as their sources of life. Indeed, some believe that innocent babies come from the Father. However, living in this world, people experience lots of corruption, distortion, and deterioration, causing them to lose the original beauty in God’s creation. Thus, we need to take the initiative to pray and commit our every thought to Him, so that we can be completely known by Jesus. We need to confirm the Father as our root and source of our lives. From this perspective, our salvation begins with welcoming Jesus into our lives, allowing Him to know us completely, and acknowledging Him as our only Lord and Savior.

Reflection questions:

1)  Do you acknowledge that the source of your life is the Father God? What parts of your life do you think are derived from someone else? And how would you rely on the Lord to change those things that come from others?

2) How can you develop the habit of firstly reporting all your vital thoughts and decisions to the Lord Jesus and also always seeking His guidance?