The Door of Community

Yesterday, we looked at the story of Eve and Jesus’ invitation to leave behind our shame and to be clothed in His righteousness, knowing we are fully accepted by God because of His death and resurrection. As we walk out of despair and through the door of hope, and as we walk out of shame and through the door of acceptance, we can finally face the last door – the invitation to step out of isolation and into communion.

When faced with an unexpected pregnancy, we may be overwhelmed by feelings of shame and anxiety that seek to isolate us from those around us. Who can we trust? Who will stand beside us as we face an unknown future? Who will encourage us as we step out in faith, trusting that God will indeed give us and our child a new future?

This brings us to our third and final story -- the story of a woman who was isolated and alone, but longed for intimacy and communion with others. We find her story in John 4. Here a woman, who has had multiple husbands and is now living with another man. She has been forced to collect water in the heat of the day when no one else is around because of the social stigma related to her sexual past. While getting water, she is met by Jesus who has gone out of His way to meet and find her in her isolation.

Although she is shocked that Jesus approaches her and seeks to talk with her, the woman soon engages in dialogue with Jesus – not knowing that He is the promised Messiah and God in human form. Like God meeting Hagar at the well in the desert, Jesus sees the Samaritan woman in her loneliness and desperation and invites her to no longer thirst for temporary earthly solutions to her needs, but to receive from Him overflowing eternal life found in a relationship with Him. This woman who longed for intimacy but who had become isolated because of her past, now finds that Jesus (Savior and God) is pursuing her and inviting her into a new life.

The woman quickly takes this news back into her village so others may hear of the new life she has found in knowing Jesus. And the village that had shunned her now receives her news and her testimony with joy! Because of Jesus’ invitation, this woman has come to know God and has been restored to her community.

This opportunity to go from isolation to communion is open to each and every one of us. In John 10, Jesus describes Himself as both the “door” and the “good shepherd.” Jesus says that those who hear His voice and respond to Him become His people (“his sheep”) and that He will lead them out and in. He promises that He knows and loves His sheep, watching over them carefully; and He promises that His sheep recognize and know His voice. This is an invitation into communion with Him.

Jesus is the door by which we enter into a relationship with God, but He is also the door by which we enter into relationships with others. Jesus describes Himself as leading a flock of sheep who go in and out, not just as individuals but as a community. By laying down His life, Jesus has paid for all of our past sins and brokenness and has made a way for us to commune with God and others who have been brought into His people. Like the Samaritan woman, we can become a part of God’s people through Jesus.

As you read the stories in John, what do you hear Jesus saying to you?

How is He inviting you into a relationship with Himself and with others?

How might knowing you are fully accepted and loved by God, allow you to share your story with others?

As we conclude our three-day journey, let’s take a few moments to reflect. Through Hagar’s story, we learned that God wants to invite us out of despair and through the door of hope, by promising us that He sees us, forgives us, and offers us a new future with Him even in the wilderness of our troubles. Through Eve’s story, we learned that God sees us when we hide in shame and wants to invite us to walk through the door of acceptance, which is made possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we receive Jesus’ death on our behalf, he then clothes us with His perfection, so we no longer are covered in shame but can confidently know we are fully accepted by God. Finally, through the Samaritan woman’s story, we learned that Jesus seeks us out in our isolation and offers Himself as the door to communion with God and His people. We can know that we are no longer alone but have His Spirit always with us, and that God will bring other people to walk with us as well.

When we face unexpected events in our lives where all hope seems lost, we can know that Jesus is the door by which we pass from despair, shame, and isolation into hope, acceptance, and communion. Jesus can be the door because He faced shame, despair, and isolation Himself when He willingly died a terrible death on the cross (see John 19, Matthew 27, Mark 15). In this way, Jesus defeated sin (every sin we have ever committed), Satan (the one who tempts us), and death (life apart from God), and offers us eternal life both now and forever. Through Jesus we can receive from God a good, promised future; full acceptance in God’s eyes; and eternal communion with Himself and His people.

No matter where you are in your journey facing an unexpected pregnancy, Jesus sees you and wants to invite you into a relationship with Him and His people. (And, Avail is here to support you whenever needed)

Jesus is standing at the door of your heart knocking, will you open it for Him?

Jesus is the open door to a new life with Him, will you walk through?

Your answers to these questions pave the way to a future better than you could have expected or imagined.