Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked. . . . I cannot get up to give you anything.’ –Luke 11:7
Sensible people lock their doors at the end of the day, if not well before. This formally closes our responsibility to the outside world. Once the door is locked, don’t bother to knock. Come back tomorrow after the sun is up and the coffee’s on.
Yet Jesus compares the generosity of God with the person who gets up and out of bed after the locking of the door to assist a friend in need. If you and I would do this when the persistent banging of the midnight visitor gets too bothersome, how much sooner—and in a better mood—will God answer our needs?
We all lock our doors at certain points in every relationship: when the demands get too frequent, when we’re tired or worn down, when our own cares command our attention, when resources run low and our hearts seem to run dry. Sometimes the limits are thoughtfully set, and the door must remain locked. But once in a while, we should check our door policy. Are we, perhaps, selling the demands of hospitality a little short?
Who has opened a door for you that might have otherwise remained locked?
How do you know when it’s time to unlock a door for someone else?
While The Gospel at Home takes a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.
Image credit: William Holman Hunt (1827–1910), public domain
