Encouragement

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OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Sue Stidham

The baseball game is about to start. I love to watch the St. Louis Cardinals! After all, they have always been my favorite team. Just think – heading to the World Series! When fans hardly ever miss a game, we feel like we personally know these guys. We invite them into our living rooms almost nightly and know their stances, their styles and sometimes the moods cloaked by those professional uniforms.

So, I’m ready to sit down and watch this game with dedicated support and enthusiasm. Seated on the sofa, I suddenly see out the window a guy walking onto my front porch with fist ready to knock. Oh, not now - I want to watch the start of the game!

Knowing he’s unaware of being seen, I debate on whether to answer the door or let him think no one is home. But if I don’t answer, will he be one of those persistent doorknockers? I guess I could see what he wants and then give him a quick ‘No thanks; not interested’ reply. He’s probably a salesman or one of those door to door missionaries.

He does look a little strange. I really don’t want to answer the door. He has obviously not shaven in weeks. His hair is kind of scraggly and he looks as though he may not of had a bath in a month of Sundays. Actually, he looks like an undesirable sort overall. He knocks. Should I answer? He knocks again. OK! I can get rid of him in a hurry and get back to the game. They are just now winding up the pregame commentaries anyway.

I open the door but not so wide as to make him think I’m inviting him in to have a seat. He does look a little familiar now that I see him face to face. But whoever he is, let’s get it over with so I don’t miss the first pitch. I stand in the doorway, keeping a firm grip on the doorknob. ‘Can I help you?’ I ask. He gives me this gentle and warm kind of smile. I repeat ‘Can I help you?’

He confidently states that he believes he can help me. Ok, here comes the spiel. I knew I should not have answered.

He begins by telling me that he knows all about my work and my problems and even my financial status. Whoa, wait a minute – is this guy some kind of stalker or psychic or something? I start to interrupt him but he’s a pro. You know how they are, you give ‘em an inch and they take a mile. Salesmen! Or bible thumper, stalker, or whoever he is.

Then he starts telling me that there are people out there who are two-faced and that they pretend to be one way but they’re not. ‘Don’t be afraid of them but be cautious’ he warns.

What? That does it, this guy is starting to spook me. He continues, advising me to buy into the right conduct and to look at my true self. Is this guy some kind of self-proclaimed guru or what? I still can’t place him though I know I have met him before, somewhere. I’m vaguely aware that I’m not as concerned about the start of the ballgame; instead, I am actually intrigued by this unkept visitor.

I decide that I could offer him a seat - for a short time. I open the door in what seems like slow motion. He tells me that by doing so I can also come to sit with him and his dad. Does he have someone out in the car? No, I didn’t see a car in the drive and assumed he was on foot. I sneak a quick glance out the door again before closing it. No car is in sight. As we step inside, for an instant, I think RUN!

However, the more he speaks the more mesmerized I become. It’s almost as if I’m frozen in time yet I still hear him speaking and I’m, though reluctantly, enthralled by every word. He says he’s been trying to reach me for quite some time. ‘I’ve sent you literature in the mail, sent out messages on a few radio and TV stations and personally brought you a special delivery about 3 weeks ago.’

I honestly don’t know what this guy is talking about. However, his words are like cohesive warmth running through my body and I can’t explain why. They just make me feel like all my separate parts are being melded together. Then he tells me that we actually met first when I was very young. I become slightly aware that he indeed isn’t the stranger I take him for. He is familiar yet I still can’t place him, but now I want to.

‘You have grown into a fine adult, but you have allowed your life to get very busy. I believe you have neither room nor time for me anymore’ he says, still displaying that gentle smile. ‘I am here today to offer you another chance to open your door, let me in and offer me a seat. I will even have supper with you if you allow it.’

This peculiar man is saying that he has been keeping track of me all these years and had indeed been around when I was unaware. He is telling me he had worked it so that I met my spouse at the right time in my life and had even brought me things that I thought were from someone else.

The visitor was now saying that he has loved me my whole life. What circuit is he running on anyway? I feel wary but curious. What is he saying?

‘I kept knocking. I was patient and persistent. But I would never force my way in. I waited until you willingly opened the door. Still, I could not enter until you asked. I allowed you to decide if you wanted to let me in. There have been many times I knocked on your door but you were unwilling to answer.

You were too busy for me but I've still loved you. You have been entertaining someone named indifference. Indifference interfered so that you would forget about our introduction in the deep woods of your youth. Instead, indifference brought along replacements in the way of money, security, possessions, social status, and other displaced priorities. I have still loved you through it all. I have been waiting for you to open the door the many times I have knocked.’

Indifference? What does he mean I have been entertaining indifference? This is like a dream, is it even happening? What was I doing when this all began? Oh yes, the ballgame. The ballgame! How much of it have I missed?

As I’m gradually aware of the commentator’s voice announcing the first pitch, I turn to the strange man on the sofa. There is no one there. I am dreaming. No! I’ve been fully awake, I know I have. But I don’t see him. This is insane and I'm not listening to anymore! Sweeping through the room is his calming voice once again.

‘We have met, and since that time I have always been with you. I was there all those times your grandmother took you to the little church in the forest. I was there when you fell out of the tree, and when you got your degree at the University. I was there when your grandmother died and when you got married. I have always been there waiting for a reunion. Don’t you remember me? My name is Jesus. I love you. Please allow me to stay.’

“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. To him that overcome will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Revelation 3:20-21

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