Many Christians are happy to belong to a specific church and some may think that as soon as you are not disfellowshipped, it means that your spiritual life is good enough. The message to Laodicea, found in Revelation 3, speaks about the risk of being disfellowshipped by God, not [only] by people.
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16 (In other translations the word spue is spit or vomit)
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…” Revelation 3:20
In the full presentation of Revelation 3:20 entitled “Time to Break Through” (see the video below) you will find more details about this very known verse and very known picture. We mention below just few important points which are meant to recreate the visual picture of the verse in a more accurate way, more faithful to the biblical message.
The classical pictures trying to capture the scene described in the biblical verse are limited and sometimes misleading. As you can see in the pictures below, Jesus is quite passive, though a little bit concerned. You can’t see what’s happening in the house or the visibility is very limited. Do these pictures really show the reality of what the Bible wants to say? Is it our life really hidden from the eyes of Jesus? Can He really stay passive when He knows that, being Himself outside, it means that inside the house, with us, there is a very dangerous enemy?
Of course these pictures don’t represent faithfully what the Bible in its entirety speaks about Jesus and His concern about us. This is why we propose a different picture with a more biblical message:
Jesus is able to see any detail of our lives. Everything is transparent to Him. We can’t really hide anything from his sight. And because He can see what’s happening inside, He can’t be passive and relaxed. No normal father in the world could be passive and relaxed while his son or his daughter are inside a building with a dangerous guy around them. This is why a complementary picture would be one of a police team trying to break through in order to rescue a potential victim and to stop a dangerous person from harming somebody.
The breaking through takes place whenever somebody will pray with faith. It is very encouraging to read in the Bible about examples when people interceded for their dear ones and God did break through and rescued them. It is also encouraging when the victims of Satan obtained real freedom, the freedom from sin, even when they were not able to articulate a prayer but Jesus could read their hearts and their longing for freedom. (Matthew 8:28-34)
We have a mighty God, who is able to help us, who is ready to rescue us. And once we are rescued, we can intercede in prayer for the salvation of other souls around us.