Open the Door

It was warm and cozy in my room at about 7:00 in the morning. I got up from my bed where I’d been sitting having my devotions and headed out to the kitchen for breakfast. Suddenly, I stopped.

Should I leave my door open or keep it closed? I wondered. If I left it closed I’d be able to keep my room warmer for longer, but if I opened it, I would help warm up the rest of the house. I was wondering what to do when, suddenly, a thought popped into my head: It’s kind of like the church. 

You might be wondering what my bedroom door has to do with the body of Christ. It’s like this: like my bedroom, the church is warm inside, spiritually. Outside, like the rest of the house, it’s very cold. People outside the church don’t enjoy the warmth that we do. 

It made me think. Shouldn’t we, as a church, open our doors to help shed some warmth out on the rest of the world more often than we actually do? Shouldn’t we try to bring souls who are freezing, whether they realize it or not, into the warmth of the love of God? Do we actually really open up our doors enough? I don’t think we do. 

Recently, I had a privilege to go on a youth mission trip to the Philippines. Our team, consisting of nineteen young people, along with some adults who acted as mentors, held an evangelistic series on the main island of Luzon. We, as young people, preached, led song services, gave bible studies, sang choir pieces, made announcements, handed out prizes — we did it all. And it was a huge blessing.

You might think, “Wow, that’s a noble thing to do”, but we’re almost put to shame. The Filipinos are on fire. They aren’t on just a month-long mission trip, preach a few sermons and then go home and put their feet up. Not to say preaching a sermon was easy, but evangelism is not just a thing they do in the Adventist Filipino Churches, it’s a way of life. 

It’s an amazing contrast. Their churches are on fire, so what’s the matter with us? Why aren’t our churches going about the same effort of winning souls? Why are we so lackadaisical? Was the command in Matthew 28 not meant for us? Should it be that our brothers and sisters in third-world countries are surpassing us in the spreading of the gospel? Absolutely not!

We shouldn’t compete, of course, but our brothers and sisters in the Philippines, and not just there, but in places such as Africa, China, and Mongolia, should be an inspiration to us. We need to wake up and see that there’s work to be done! Friends, time is running out. There are souls outside, longing to be in the warmth of the church! But nobody is inviting them in. Why? Because we are content just to sit there and enjoy the warmth, when we should, instead, be going out and wrapping someone else up in it. 

There’s always something you can do, my friend. If you’re older, or have health issues, that’s okay. You don’t have to go door to door passing out literature or selling books. There’s other things you can do. Maybe you can give bible studies. Maybe you can encourage someone who’s struggling. You can give a word of comfort in season to one who is weary. 

“But,” you say, “I’m not good with words. I couldn’t give a bible study.” That’s fine too. Maybe you can’t give a bible study, but you can always reach someone with your testimony. People’s lives can be impacted when someone with a testimony comes and says, “I know how it is. I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I’ve felt the pain and the guilt. And here’s how God brought me out of that.” If you don’t have a testimony, get on your knees and don’t get up until you do. 

There’s always something for everyone to do. You may be the only person who can reach a freezing soul, the only one who would be able to touch them. You are needed. Don’t excuse yourself from the work. A soul might freeze to death if you do. There’s no time to be lost. 

I opened my door. Will you?

Adriana Carper