The idea of Jesus waiting for the gatekeeper to open the gate for Him is still rolling around in my mind today. I guess you could say, I am meditating on it. I once heard a definition for meditation as to do to the Word what a cow does to her cud. For those of you city folk--here is a technical explanation of how a cow chews her cud. As you read it I'm sure you can see the similarities to meditating on the Word of God.
Today I was thinking that another interpretation of John 10:3 is that since we are called watchmen (gatekeepers) and Jesus said He is the gate, not only can we help to open the gate for Him to come in to others' lives, but that on a personal level we must open the gate of our own life, our mind, our will to Him. He waits for us to do that before He comes in. He gives us the choice, so it is up to us to make the decision to open the gate whenever we see Him ready to come in. This obviously applies to our decision to become a Christian, but I think it also has to do with every situation in which we find ourselves. Will we invite Jesus in to be the Lord of our lives, or just to help us get to Heaven?
"Chewing a cud is a process by which some animals, called ruminants (camels, goats, sheep, deer, and cattle), thoroughly digest their food. The cow, for example, has a stomach organized into sections to take care of hard-to-digest food. When the cow first takes in food, it chews it just enough to moisten it. Once swallowed, the food goes to the stomach’s first section, where it is mixed with chemicals and softened. This softened food is called the cud, small balls of food. Next, the stomach’s muscles send the cud back up to the cow’s mouth, where it is re-chewed and swallowed again, this time going to another section of the stomach, where moisture is squeezed out of the cud. Finally, the food enters the last section of the stomach, the true stomach, where digestive juices mix with the food and start it on its way to the intestine to be completely digested." (http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/why-does-a-cow-chew-its-cud)
Today I was thinking that another interpretation of John 10:3 is that since we are called watchmen (gatekeepers) and Jesus said He is the gate, not only can we help to open the gate for Him to come in to others' lives, but that on a personal level we must open the gate of our own life, our mind, our will to Him. He waits for us to do that before He comes in. He gives us the choice, so it is up to us to make the decision to open the gate whenever we see Him ready to come in. This obviously applies to our decision to become a Christian, but I think it also has to do with every situation in which we find ourselves. Will we invite Jesus in to be the Lord of our lives, or just to help us get to Heaven?
I guess you can tell I am enjoying 'ruminating' on John 10:3.
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