Open Door Policy
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
(Revelation 3:7–13 NIV)
Introduction
Open doors sound like a great thing. But in reality, it depends on the situation. I remember being at a grocery store with a friend when I was a child. We were quite amused with the automatic doors that were opened by just standing in front of it. Then I got the brilliant idea to trap my friend between the open door and the glass wall behind it as I stood on the mat. It was all great until the glass wall cracked in his attempt to escape my trap. I guess you could say that open doors are not all they are cracked up to be. At the same time, Christians often speak of open doors as a way to describe how God reveals his will. Sometimes opportunities just open up in a way in which all the pieces just fit together. Things are so perfect that it just has to be God. But how do we determine if this open door is from God? Is there a difference between the time I needed a certain amount of money to go on a mission trip and it appeared and the time someone left their money in the ATM before I got there, and if I had not returned it, I could have enjoyed quite a few donuts? If an open door is just when things are easy, what about if you walked into a store with the only employee in the back room and you could take valuable items without any fear of being caught? What about a person who does not get along with their spouse living next door to a lonely person whose own spouse is always traveling? Does the ease of the affair mean that it is God opening the door? Jesus speaks to the church at Philadelphia about open doors and we will try to understand what it means for us.
Philadelphia
Jesus tells the church at Philadelphia: “I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.” (Revelation 3:8 NIV) If we interpreted this through the modern understanding, we would assume that something really easy came their way and it was just a joy to embrace. But as we read this letter, we find a different situation. We find the Christians in conflict with a group that considers themselves Jewish but belong to the synagogue of Satan. This is not suggesting that all Jews are satanists. Rather, since Satan means ‘accuser’, there seems to be a group of Jews who were causing trouble for the Christians by accusing them of false crimes. The open door for them seems to be able to continue faithfully on their current path. Jesus acknowledges that they have only a little strength, but because it is the door he is opening, it his strength that will get them through. Where God guides, he provides. The open door does not mean everything will be easy. They still need to endure. Jesus pleads with them to hold on and overcome. However in the long term, this open door will provide a better future for them, allowing them to escape some of the tribulation coming on the world.
Our Door
So what does this mean for us? We want to do what God wants, to go where God wants us to go. We want the open doors. But how do we know when God is opening a door and when an opportunity just happens to present itself? There are some principles that we can learn from the church at Philadelphia.
Not Easy – First of all, you can not determine an open door by how easy the opportunity is or how comfortable it will make us. The open door for the church at Philadelphia was to continue faithfully in a difficult situation. Our open door may not be easy. The open door could potentially make your life more complicated, less financially secure and rather uncomfortable. Think of people who have been called to missions overseas or in inner cities. But is not just the ease of the opportunity but the ease of passing through the door. Sometimes we think if things happen quickly, it must be of God. It may be, but difficulties do not mean it was not of God. Paul was called to preach the Gospel but God kept throwing roadblocks up until Paul got to the right place. Imagine if Paul gave up preaching just because discovering the right journey was not easy.
Truth – We can also see that an open door must be consistent with God’s truth. Jesus describes himself as the Amen, which means the truth. An opportunity to steal, lie or cheat is not going to be a real open door from God. The church at Philadelphia received an open door to endure faithfully. That sounds like God’s truth. If an opportunity comes our way to share the love of Christ or the message of God’s salvation, we should take it seriously as an open door from God.
Endurance – The misleading part of the open door is that we think that all we have to do is walk through the doorway and we are finished. This path takes great endurance. It requires continual walking on the straight and narrow path.
Short-term – In the short-term this might actually make our lives more difficult. We may have our own synagogues of Satan to deal with. People may accuse us of false things. We cannot judge by what we see in the short-term if this was God’s will. Imagine what the early Christian church thought as they began to experience the deaths of their leaders. Did they wonder if the Christian church was really God’s will? Could these bad things really happen if this was God’s will?
Long-term
The truth can only be discovered in the long-term. As we walk in faith through the door God has opened for us, we will see the benefits. The church at Philadelphia were promised an escape from tribulation. What will be our benefits? Will it be skeptics in our community reconsidering the Christian faith? Will it be our friends and family coming to knowledge of Christ?
Conclusion
The truth is that God does open doors. But not every opportunity comes from God. We must look at every opportunity and attempt to discern what is God’s good and perfect will. The measure is not ease, comfort or pleasure. It is about how consistent it is with God’s truth and the long-term fruit that is produced. It takes work but the great thing is that when Christ opens a door, he will provide and strengthen and he will use us for his glory.
