Matthew 6:14-15
“In prayer there is a connection
between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from
God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do
your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
The children have a habit of
walking up to the back door of our car, and standing right in front of
it. We are unable to open the door until they move…otherwise, they
would bump their heads. As many times as we get in and out of the car,
you would think that they would have this figured out and stand back far
enough for the door to be opened. But often, we have to say, “Step
back, so we can open the door!” because they are blocking the pathway.
This
pretty well describes how we act with God. We say and do things we
shouldn’t. We fail to forgive others. In short, we sin - over and over
- without any remorse…and essentially, we stand in the doorway and
prevent God from opening it. I honestly believe that a lot of us are
like our three little ones who truly do not make this connection...at least, not yet! We
have not given careful consideration to how our words, actions – and
“position” relative to an open connection with God – directly correlate
to our relationship with Him.
We don’t seem to understand that
in order to hear from God…in order to feel His presence – and to
receive His forgiveness in our own lives – we have to forgive others and
obey Him in every way. We have to be humble, compliant, and ready to
operate in grace and mercy toward others…because our sins are no bigger
or smaller than anyone else’s, and God’s love and blessings are
available to everyone. When we “move away from the door” and stop
blocking communication with God, He clears the pathway.
Years
ago, I cross-stitched a little sampler that said, “If you don’t feel
close to God…guess who moved.” I’ve always thought of this as moving away from God…but in light of this scripture passage, I see that sometimes, I have moved toward
Him in such a way that I’ve effectively blocked Him and denied myself
direct access. I’ve smugly thought I was in complete communion with Him,
when all the while, I was blocking the door with my actions and
attitudes. With this in mind, I plan to be more careful about my
“position”…to operate more thoughtfully in grace, mercy, compassion,
love, kindness…and forgiveness…so that the doorway to an intimate relationship with God is always open.
Are
you blocking the doorway to complete communion with God today? Isn’t
it time for you to do whatever it takes to move in the right direction?
Will this be the day that you “step out of the way” so that He can open
the door?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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