Earlier this week, I was stopping over to a rental house to check on an issue and I grabbed what I thought was the key to the door to get in, as I had not used it for a year or more. I got there a few minutes before I was to meet a service person, and it did not work. I dug through my car and found my big keychain, which has worked in the past, and tried a few of the most likely candidates and was not successful. I was getting discouraged and then realized I had a couple keys on the keychain for my car and sure enough, that worked. I transferred them and had them with me all along and had not realized it. I don’t even use keys as often as I did 10 years ago, but it is good to have them with you when you need them. What do you do when you realize you don’t have the right key to get you where you need to go?
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:1-3
When I was in college choir, we sang a spiritual hymn called ‘I Got a Key’, which included the refrain ‘I got a key to the Kingdom, and the world can’t do me no harm.’ The key to the kingdom that we sang about was Faith in Jesus. That is the key to the gates of heaven, so to speak, and when we get there, we will find out how well that Key works. But he also gave us access to those keys to His Kingdom here on earth as well. We have the ability to bring some into the kingdom and to keep others out by the authority given to us by Jesus. How well are we doing as gatekeepers?
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
God has given us access, through Jesus, to more than we could ever ask or imagine. When He adopted us into his family, we were given privileges that only heirs are allowed. Maybe we have become like spoiled children, and just take these things for granted, not realizing the privilege and access we have because of who our Father is. Let us use our position wisely and be generous with what all we have been given. May we be grateful for the keys and access we have to God’s Kingdom, so that many more will be welcomed in than we would ever imagine.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 5:34
But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Revelation 1:17-18
Yours in Christ,
Clark
