A door is an opening in the wall of a building designed for entering and leaving it, which is opened or closed by one or more panels. These panels are called doors or gates. We can also speak of interior doorways that allow movement from one room of a house to another. A door is usually planned for the most visible, accessible, and convenient location.
In my little house of happiness, the door represents the entrance into my soul, into my very heart, which can be opened or closed only with my personal consent.
My heart is the most important part of the little house of happiness. It determines what my happiness will be, whether it will exist at all, what it will be built from, and how it will be preserved. This is my self, which is the object of God’s special love and His cherished desire, as well as a special target for the attacks of Satan and his forces. Yet I have been given the right to choose and decide whom and what I may allow into my heart and what I will feed the spiritual person within me called the soul.
The door of the soul is that vitally important opening through which only those whom I consider necessary to admit may enter and leave. My freedom gives me the right to choose my guests and the standards of conduct accepted in my little house.
Jesus deeply desires to have me as His friend, as someone dear and close to Him. With all His Heart, He offers Himself to me, declaring that He is the true entrance into my little house.
As we read John chapter 10, we see Christ’s declaration that He Himself is the Door. John 10:6 says, “This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which He spake unto them.” Do you, my friends, understand the meaning of these symbols? The Lord gives a direct answer. We read in John 10:9: “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
Is this definition clear to you? What does a door have to do with it? What is this pasture or grazing land? We could spend a very long time trying to guess. And if we recall the message to Laodicea—that Jesus has come, is standing at the door, and is knocking—it becomes even more intriguing and puzzling. How can Someone, while being Someone, knock upon Himself?
But the Lord had a special purpose in speaking through parables. He wished to protect His mission from superficial listeners. In essence, every parable or allegory is a closed door to anyone who wishes to enter merely out of curiosity or who has evil intentions. The Lord could have explained every detail of the plan of Salvation, carefully written out all the instructions step by step, and revealed every danger—and He did so when speaking with His disciples. But the most important truths are concealed within mysterious symbols.
Consider, for example, the possessions that are most vital for the last days: my name in the Book of Life, oil for the lamp, God’s seal, the goods offered to Laodicea, belonging to the 144,000, and the building of a sturdy house. If you are hearing these things for the first time, what do you understand? Only what is written. But what do they mean? Their meaning is revealed to those who have a personal friendship with Jesus and desire to delve into His teaching so that they may find a precious treasure for themselves and discover joy and salvation in it.
The Door is the teaching of Christ, which enables my mind to enter God’s storehouses of love and happiness and continually discover the beauty of the Lord’s character, filling my soul with these discoveries and bringing joy to my heart. Jesus desires His teaching to become the door of my heart and to open for His personal presence as my Interpreter and Inspirer. This is the meaning and wisdom of God’s plan for my happiness. No one understands the laws of blessedness better than Jesus, and no one loves as He does. Therefore, by choosing His teaching as the door of my soul, I run the risk of becoming the happiest and most loving person.
Yet Jesus’ parable of the door contains the following statement. We read in John 10:2–3: “But he that entereth in by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear His voice...” Here we encounter the word “porter.” Who is this? It is my will, connected to my intellect, which considers the information it receives, consults with my reason, and is the very part of my heart that Christ desires to have as His bride. My will knows the voice of the Heavenly Friend and distinguishes it from a thousand other voices that seek to burst into my little house through the windows and doors or find cracks in its walls. Although the Lord knows all my peculiarities and weaknesses, He still chooses to enter only through the Door—which is His teaching—and only I can open it to Him by a decision of my will. Everything is so simple and yet wonderfully mysterious. Everything within me belongs to God; I myself belong to God; I am in God, and He is in me. Yet He always waits for my decision, even after I have admitted Him into my heart. Jesus sets my soul in order and makes it clean, but at the slightest indication from me, He is ready to stop His work and leave.
The special protection of my house, however, consists in this: it is not I who hold God in my hand and decide what to do with Him; rather, He holds me firmly in His great and mighty hand, allowing no one to steal my love or destroy my happiness.
The enemy of the soul also desires to become a door. He is ready to call himself by any name or even pass himself off as a god, and woe to me if I install that door. Satan’s teaching has much in common with God’s truth. It is logical and harmonizes with my carnal nature. But this door leads to death, and through it unhappiness enters my life.
By telling me that I am unhappy, the Lord makes it clear that my life is not in order, the door of my heart is very flimsy, and the windows of my soul admit many unnecessary things into the house. But by becoming my Door, Jesus can give me true treasure for my soul and joy for my heart. He will spend time with me and teach me everything that I desire to discover and understand. My thirst will unseal new springs of wonderful discoveries.
The teaching of Christ is unique because it possesses crystalline purity without dangerous impurities and reveals new qualities of God’s love and wisdom, which become mine as I dig them out and acquire them.
My little house of happiness is a dwelling place for my self. It is the abode of my heart and a home for my soul. I personally decide where to place my soul. I choose happiness—happiness in Jesus. I install the right doors, inspect the windows, and begin to live. I notice that my path becomes beautiful in such pure surroundings. My life is abundant, and no end to it can be seen. Somewhere at the conclusion of my earthly journey, I see the place where I will rest, but then comes the beautiful morning of the glorious Resurrection, when I will continue my discoveries throughout unending Eternity. If my happiness already brings me joy here, I can only imagine what it will be like there, where there will be no unhappiness. If I already love here, how wonderful it will be to love there, where all of this will be Eternal!
Love is the little key to the door of my house of happiness. With this key, each of you may come to visit me and bring even greater joy to Jesus and me. We dearly love helping unhappy people build something beautiful in their lives and become a blessing to those around them. And we are very good at it.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Proverbs 3:5; 4:23; James 5:8–9; John 10:1–10; Exodus 12:22–23; Psalm 24:7–10; Isaiah 26:20–21; Jeremiah 49:31–32; Micah 7:5–7; Malachi 1:7–10; Matthew 6:6; 25:10; Colossians 4:3; Revelation 3:7–8, 20