Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
My first observance of Warner Sallman’s “Christ at Heart’s Door” painting with its knobless door produced an instant appreciation and joy for the infinite kindness, respect, and love that Jesus has for our free will, our gift of self, of freedom, of life. With self, comes the battle; and our self confines us to our own dark prison of pride. I was fortunate enough, in my darkest moments, to open my door to “The Light of the World”, Jesus Christ. I now struggle to perform God’s will with the constant help of my Intimate Friend and Brother, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. I hope the song “Jesus Knocking on the Door” and the additional Spirituals will lift your Spirit, and fill your heart with the peace and joy of Jesus.
And now for the story. All of a sudden, in the still of an empty house, I was awakened by an extremely hard banging on my bedroom door. Scared me to death, but only for a moment as soon I was overcome by an intense joy. I knew I had to deliver a Jesus message to my Dad; so I wrote him a letter, met him for breakfast, and recanted my story. The message was tough, as Dad was having a tough time dealing with Jesus. I left sensing progress as my ears continued to repeat the unexplainable sounds of the knock.
Soon after my bedroom knock, I sat down at the piano, and melody to “Jesus Knocking on the Door” popped into my head along with visions of the painting. Just before Christmas, I was awakened at
3:00AM by the inability to sleep. I proceeded to write the entire lyrics and remaining melody without playing any piano notes. (I had never done that before).
And as if by coincidence….I gave the song to my Dad for Christmas. I brought the song to Sally Fisher, my Dad’s voice teacher. She encouraged a recording. I heard Pat Ruello-Nicaud, accompanist, playing piano at church. Sally introduced Mike Harvey, our sound engineer. We practiced, collaborated. I attempted to impose my artistic will on the group; and then I realized; it’s not my song, it’s Jesus’ song, Jesus’ will, brought to fruition through the combined effort and labor of my “coincidence” cohorts.
Thank you Sally, Pat, and Mike. Thank you Dad. Thank you Jesus!
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