Following On

There’s a little face looking at me through the window. It’s cold outside. I just checked the temperature and it says that it’s 33°. I wouldn’t want to be outside at that temperature. He just wants to come in where it’s warm, because the inside of my house is 40° above the outside of my house and so he looks at me, asking to come in.

Sometimes, this world we live in can seem mighty cold. So many of life’s experiences have a winter’s edge to them. That time when you stood up and nobody else stood up with you - and you felt the cold fingers of winter brush against your arm. That time when you were blamed for somebody else’s mistake. That time when somebody failed to keep their promise. That time when you were kept on the outside while everybody else was being welcomed inside. Ah, there’s a touch of winter in all these things.

Therefore we stand at the window looking inside wishing we could come into a place that is warm and welcoming. Did you know that God wants to be that place for you: that safe place where you are loved with an everlasting love? It’s warm inside God’s house.

In Luke chapter 9 Jesus went off to be by himself, but a large crowd learned where he had gone and sought him out. In Luke 9:11 the Bible says that the, “crowds learned he had gone to Bethsaida and followed him there.” Now listen to what Jesus did when he saw them. This verse says that, “He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.”

So I saw this face at the window … it was my cat Hidee. He was cold and wanted to come inside. So I opened the window just enough for him to hop through into an environment that is warm and welcoming.

That’s what Jesus did for a cold and lost humanity. He opened the window of heaven and invited us in. In John 10:7 Jesus says to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep … I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Jesus welcomes you. It’s cold outside. Come inside where it’s warm instead.