Jesus holds open the door. (Part 6)

Jesus holds open the door

Part 6: We declare: “Grace and truth have come into the world. There is a redeemer”.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never overcome it”. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. And we have seen his glory – look past the word; we have seen what God looks like in a form that we humans can recognise. It is simply a declaration. It hangs in space and time. It is the spiritual equivalent of the Big Bang. It can have no supporting evidence. It is just there: a declaration of truth. Though it may be a lie. We have to choose. And really, we have nothing to go on. Well, this isn’t quite true; those who want to call it false have all the evidence in the world on their side. And those who believe it true have only a glimpse of a gap in the darkness, a chink of light coming through a door that Jesus is holding open. They have no evidence; it is only a belief, a hope, a commitment. But they are looking at all the other evidence, and especially, they have seen the smirk on the face of evil and they rebel against his triumph; they will not accept that he has won. All they have is the understanding that they hold more true than all else in the world put together: their insight that a door is open, and it is possible to pass through it. Grace and truth are visible through the door, and just enough of it has slipped through into our world, flowing unrestrained by evil’s rage into the hearts of those who see. It is drawing us to the opening.

And here, now, is the fullness of Christ’s work. The door is not a feat of nature; it is a spiritual door. And everything we know about ourselves tells us that the immense force of humanity is intent on slamming that door closed shut. Call to mind the fear, the horror, the hatred and we know that this is true. The door is not like a fortunate cleft in giant rocks that allows the path to cross the mountains; the tide of human nature is rushing in to close the opportunity to reach through to safety, to joy, to peace, to resting in the love of God.

Perhaps you feel a lucky few, gifted by the chances of life, find themselves born on the threshold and they can slip through at a moment’s notice, but even those who have battled through the hatred, greed and stupidity of our kind, find themselves tripping on the last step when their own guilt or hollowness or hypocrisy causes them to step aside, even though the way to enter is clear. There is something in us that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.