This past Easter weekend I have been thinking a lot about our Savior and what it means to be His disciple. While contemplating on that thought I was reminded of the picture of Christ knocking at the door with no handle where we talk of it being us that need to open the door for Him to come into our lives. Which is definitely true. We read in Revelation Chapter 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
However, recently I have begun to look at in another light. Instead of picturing him at the door knocking for us to let Him in. I picture Him on the other side of the door and when seeing us come to knock, swinging the door wide open with a giant smile on His face saying “Come in the door is open”!
The Lord does not discriminate. He sees us as we are and as we can be! So I don’t believe He would hesitate at all if He were to see us taking the steps to come unto him. He would enfold us in a big hug as if to say “I’ve missed you, where have you been all this time?”
It warms my heart to think that we have a loving Savior who is as concerned and committed to us as a loving parent would be. He sees what we are going through. He sees us laugh and cry, win and lose, find joy and have pain. He is all knowing and despite our giant mistakes and problems He loves us all the more.
Seeing our Savior in this way has allowed me to be more open and willing to share the Gospel here on my blog as well as with those I come into contact with. For were it not for me being born into belief in the gospel, I fear I might not be a believer. And I feel for all of those who have never heard of Christ the Lord and have no idea that there is a power beyond their own that they can tap into and rely on each and every day.
So what can we do? How can we help or find those who have never heard of, or who have strayed from the path towards Christ? I believe there are several ways that we can do that. But, might I suggest just one? That we just love them.
When I was a young mom I had a child that would test me to my limits. I could tell you story after story of how he would get into trouble and press my buttons. But just to give you a couple of examples, he once buttered, with a tub of butter and a spoon, his younger sister while sitting on the sofa waiting to go have pictures done while I finished getting dressed, lol. Imagine my surprise and displeasure as I came out to find, not only my 18 month old daughter covered head to toe in butter, but the carpet, T.V. and everything in between. How long was I away? Couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes.
On another occasion, he thought it would be fun to dump Hershey chocolate syrup all over our brand new carpet! By this time, I was on a first name basis with the carpet cleaners. I knew not to even attempt to clean it, just call the cleaners, haha. Oh he was a Dennis the Menace in every way. I can laugh about it now, but at the time, I would find myself at my wits end as he got into fiasco after fiasco testing my every last nerve. And he did it so quickly and slyly right under my nose. I couldn’t leave him alone for a second!
I remember one night I was praying and pleading with the Lord to help me with this child. Help me to know what to do and how to handle him. I begged to know what I was doing wrong. Why did he test me like this? As the tears flowed and I poured my heart out. These gentle words came into my mind still and quiet, “Just love him, just love him”. For that is how the Savior handles us. He just loves us! No matter what.
As I was thinking about this, the words of Ulysses Soares a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, came to mind from our recent conference. “When we earnestly, heartily, firmly, and sincerely seek to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ and teach it to one another, these teachings may transform hearts. …It is hard to understand all the reasons why some people take another path. The best we can do in these circumstances is just to love and embrace them, pray for their well-being, and seek for the Lord’s help to know what to do and say. Sincerely rejoice with them in their successes; be their friends and look for the good in them. We should never give up on them but preserve our relationships. Never reject or misjudge them. Just love them!”
Just love them! I am so amazed by the love that our Savior has for me and for all of us. The least we can do for Him is to treat others with respect. Honor them for who they are. Be examples of love and light like the Savior would have us do. And above all, just love them!
I pray that I can help others to come unto Christ. That I can be open and ready and willing when opportunities arise. That I will be able to take the words of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, into my heart as he said “...Pray daily with all your heart that you will find those who will come and see, come and help, and come and stay. “
And when that opportunity comes hopefully I will be able to say “Come in the door is open!”, with a great big giant smile!
p.s. I know I promised my next post to be another about mental illness … but when thoughts come I have to get them out :). And that one is proving to take a little longer and be harder than I thought it would be. It will come soon…XO Wendy
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