The Letter to the Laodician Church
Jesus’ letter to the Laodician Church (Rev 3:14) is probably understood by most Bible readers as a warning and scolding to a wayward church. It is known as the “lukewarm” church which Jesus said He was about to vomit out of His mouth. That’s not a pretty site, nor a joyous thought. But, in His letter resides one of the most inspiring and uplifting truths of all Scripture. Yet, it has pretty much been hidden because of the symbolism of the language. It is when we penetrate past the symbols and come upon the reality of which they speak that we encounter a soul filling grasp of a grace of God.
In this letter, in verse 20, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” The door which Jesus mentions is the door of our minds, and His standing and knocking is symbolic, poetic language describing the prompting He gives us to study and speak His words (the Scripture). That meaning is confi9rmed by His following comment about hearing His voice. What anyone’s voice does is speak words. If we hear His voice (receive an awareness of His words in the Scripture) and open the door (turn our minds to attentively consider His words), Jesus will come in to us and dine.
Eating. Particularly in the New Testament, is often an image pointing to the ingesting of the words of Jesus and the Father. As we eat natural food to nourish our physical bodies, so we need to eat supernatural food to nourish our souls. But what inspiring truth do we learn by hearing that Jesus comes in to us and dines with us? Because Jesus Himself dines, He, Himself, is ingesting and speaking the words of God. Not only is it we who are dining on the word, but Jesus is also. We are doing it together. But why would Jesus be doing that? Because He has an ongoing ministry to always live to make intercession to God for us (Heb. 7:25). In other words, every time we turn our minds to the scripture in order to seriously consider and speak the glorious words it presents, Jesus is right there with us speaking the same words to God on our behalf.
Our thoughts and words are not ascending alone, but in the company of the thoughts and words of God’s most precious Son., That, incidentally, is the meaning of Mt 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” If we are gathered together in His name, we are considering His words. It is also the meaning of Heb 2:12, “In the midst of the assembly (church) I will sing praise to You” When you are praising God in your local church, Jesus is in your company, also praising Him.
Consider the glory that awaits you the next time you turn your mind to the words of God. It is in that process that you encounter Jesus, your intercessor. As you meditate the words He has given you, He has a real presence right there with you. If you’re looking for real joy and glory, immerse yourself in the words of God, keeping in mind that when you do, you have a real, already successful and glorified companion with you. You are not alone!