Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
When we open the door of communication with Jesus, Jesus himself describes this event as being like dinner with a dear friend.
Do you come to your dinner table with a to-do list of things to cover in conversation? Are you nervous or hurried when you sit down to have dinner in your home with a dear friend? We do not come to dinner with our family or friends the way we come to a job interview—with tension, anxious that we might not say everything just right, with an agenda we need to check off in order to impress the person on the other side of the table from us.
What do you talk about during a dinner conversation with a friend? You talk about whatever is on your mind or heart.
You talk about big things and small things. And you listen … you listen to what he has to say, the counsel he has to give, and the love he has to share.
Jesus is describing the deep, everyday, comfortable fellowship of dear friends.
You are not checking your watch constantly to see if you have got your 15 or 30 minutes of “conversation” in, so you can check that off your list for the day. You are not concentrating on the obligation to communicate; you are communicating because this is your friend, and you want to know him better. You want to share with him the cares, concerns, or joys that are on your heart.
So when Jesus says, “Open the door to communion with me, and I will come into you and dine with you, and you with me,” he is describing the deep, everyday, comfortable fellowship of dear friends. That is what life can be like, is meant to be like, when we are walking with God in prayer each day!
This blessing is so sweet that it is no exaggeration to say that hear-and-now communion with Jesus is just a precursor to eternity. This is why we read, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). This is a description of the afterlife for every Christian believer! It is described as a supper because it is a celebration banquet, but also because there are few things in the world more pleasant than dining with friends.
Hear-and-now communion with Jesus is just a precursor to eternity.
This also is why salvation is pictured in the beautiful ordinance we call “The Lord’s Supper” and “Communion”. Not just because it was delivered at a supper in the first instance, but also because each time we partake of the bread and cup we are again fellowshipping, communing with God through Jesus Christ.
Keep in mind that in Revelation 3:20, Jesus is not addressing a group of super-saints or apostles. He is actually addressing people who are backslidden. Yet to this cold-hearted audience Jesus extends this warm invitation: “If anyone will open the door…” May the sweet communion of dinner-like conversation with Christ be yours today.