Open Door
Date: Live on September 26th, 2021 (completed later)
Canvas: 30” x 30”
Scripture:
"We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us." [Romans 5:2 The Message Version]
Artist Statement:
When I heard Heidi Glynn would be preaching about Kingdom Hospitality--Giving Jesus the Keys to Your Front Door--it reminded me of Romans 5:1-5, a verse given to me by a dear friend and mentor, Dallas Demmitt, over 10 years ago. It showed me I could stop efforting to earn God's favor and love. I would recite this verse again and again in dark moments of my life when I wanted to quit, run away and hide. When I didn't believe I was lovable, I would choose instead to believe God’s point of view: He had already achieved the goal to—"set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus." I would spontaneously be open and vulnerable; I would throw my front door open again and again to Jesus. And each time, I “found myself standing out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting my praise.”
Heidi talked about Luke 14, the parable of the banquet, where a wealthy man invites his friends to a feast but everyone is too busy, so he tells his servants to go out and invite the sick, the poor, and disabled. When Jesus has the keys to our heart, he brings in people who are suffering and have lost their way in life--the refugees.
Jesus comes to each of us when we are at our lowest point and invites us to his banquet. We relax in that warm atmosphere and finally feel a sense of belonging with him and our brothers and sisters at the banquet table. So, we give Jesus the keys to our heart...he comes alive inside us...we let him live IN us and THROUGH us. We can’t help but run out and invite in our fellow refugees who are still starving and cold, ‘Come on! Throw down those cold leftovers! There’s a banquet going on! The best food you can imagine! But, there’s a catch...you can’t earn it! It’s a free gift!’