Feb
20
2017
Open The Door
Posted in Evangelism 4 Comments
It was a favorite read-aloud story of my children.
It was one of my favorite stories as well.
There was so much to enjoy about the simple story.
There was so much to discuss after reading it.
The story begins with travelers coming to a village.
The travelers carry nothing in their hand but an empty cooking pot.
Tired and hungry from their travels, they hoped the villagers might share some food with them.
The villagers are unwilling to share with them.
The travelers have an idea.
They go to the stream and fill the empty pot with some fresh water.
They get a large stone and place it in the bottom of the pot.
They place the pot over an open fire.
A villager walks by and is curious about what the travelers are cooking.
The travelers inform the villager that they are making stone soup.
They tell the villager how wonderful the soup tastes.
However, the soup needs more ingredients to improve the flavor.
The villager decides that he can spare a few carrots to improve the flavor of the soup.
Another villager walks by and is curious about the pot boiling on the fire.
The villager is willing to give some extra seasoning so it can be added to the soup.
Other villagers passed by and contribute something to the soup.
One villager even offered some extra meat for the soup.
Everyone was amazed that stone soup could smell so delicious.
Before sitting down to enjoy the meal, one of the travelers removed the unnecessary stone.
The villagers and the travelers all sat down to eat the soup to which they all contributed.
So many lessons can be learned by this story.
The art of sharing can be discussed.
Conversations can begin about what it means to be stingy with what you have.
The story allows you to talk about honesty, shrewdness, and cooperation.
I saw a video that made me think of this story.
It was similar in some ways.
It was vastly different in other ways.
The video warmed my heart once I understood its purpose.
A woman is leaving her job at the end of the day.
Everyone around her is either on their phones or listening to music with ear buds in their ears.
Everyone seems to be oblivious to everyone else.
The people are literally next to her yet no one says a word or even looks at each other.
The man at the front desk of her building has his head down looking at his phone.
The people in the elevator do not even seem to notice that anyone else is around them.
Each person goes into his own apartment without saying a word.
When the woman walks into her apartment, her roommate is no different.
A laptop and an iPad are open before her and headphones are over the roommate’s ears.
In desperation, the woman drops her bags to the floor.
Then the scene changes.
Their apartment door opens as they carry out a long table and place it in the hallway.
A tablecloth is placed on the table and chairs are positioned on each side.
The table is set with extra plates for visitors.
The woman and her roommate sit at a small table on one end.
Some of her neighbors come out of their apartment and are surprised at the sight.
The woman and her roommate wave to them inviting them to join their meal.
A man and woman along with their child sit down.
One by one, apartment doors open out of curiosity.
One by one, the invitation to join them is accepted.
Different ages and different cultures all sit at the table together.
As each person joins the table, they bring food to share with the others.
People that never talked to each other before share fellowship over a meal.
Introductions are made; friendships begin.
Suddenly a little girl climbs under the table and through the sea of legs.
She knocks on a door at the end of the hallway.
She beckons an old man to come out and join them.
He walks back inside as she stands in front of his door.
The door opens and the old man comes to the table with a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine.
Let’s eat! is seen on the lips of the woman as she invites everyone to begin.
Food, fellowship, and friendship were enjoyed over a meal.
Differences melted away; that which was common among them was celebrated.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Can you imagine the Wedding Supper of the Lamb?
Can you imagine the nations joining around the table to eat with the Lord Jesus?
Can you see His arms opened wide welcoming you to the table?
Can you see the diverse beauty of every nation as they are gathered around His table?
Jesus stands at the door and knocks.
His voice is heard and recognized.
You open the door so that you can join Him.
Nations are gathered; perfect meal fellowship has begun.
GREAT GINA! These days, someone would call in the fire inspector to clear the hallway.
One of our most fun dinners was decades ago when we had 30 some inches of snow. We didn’t knock on our neighbors’ doors but used the phone to reach people on our block and had a covered dish supper at our house – bring anything you want because it was spur of the moment.
Recently, we knocked on three of the newer neighbors’ doors and invited three couples whom we did not know to dinner (scheduled for another night. Some looked like they thought we were nuts, another was quite chilly to us until he figured out what was going on and appeared at our door apologizing. All couples came and we had a great time, with much in common.
Jeff,
How wonderful. Sometimes all it takes is a simple invitation to open the door to a friendship. I am sure the couples you invited were blessed.
Gina
My good friend Pat’s daughter works in a place where contact with other employees is discouraged. No one speaks to each other, says hello or good bye. She thinks this is very strange but she needs her job so has acclimated to the situation. Maybe the management feels people will not work as hard, but I think this is wrong. In that situation I would be very uncomfortable not being able to be pleasant to my co-workers. Now we have a whole culture that is tuned in to their phones and not to the people standing/sitting right next to them. How sad! We need to “open the door” to each other every day; who knows who we might meet and what we would learn?
Sue,
Wouldn’t it be nice if we all would just open the door to even one person we did not know before? Can you imagine the sweet fellowship?
Gina