The other morning at about 4.30am I had a dream. Or at least I thought I did. It was very brief yet decisive, and consisted of a firm four or five knocks on a door. It was real enough for
me to rise up from my bed and check my bedroom door and the front door, but there was no one there. So I concluded it was a dream.
Like any pastor would, I pondered the spiritual significance of this dream. There are two obvious references to door knocking in the New Testament, Matthew 7: 7-8 comes to mind. Here the believers are encouraged to ask, seek and knock, and God, who is good, will answer.
Yet I leaned more towards Revelation 3:20, because I was the hearer or receiver of the knocking in my dream, and was awoken by it. In my youth, this verse was mostly used out of context as a call to come to Christ for the first time. Here in the book of Revelation it is for the believers at Laodicea a call to repentance and an opportunity to refocus on what God has for them.
If we include verse 19 we get a better picture of what God is saying through John of Patmos;
'Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.' (Rev 3: 19-20 NIV)
I seldom dream, so when I do, I often find a word of encouragement or correction in the dream. Yet dreams are tricky things, difficult to get a clear direction on. This time I had some clarity and encouragement. I am being called to heed what God is saying to me and sharing it with you, the church in these times. I'm not underplaying the personal aspect, but that will be between me and God for now.
To make it broader for the community of Forrest Hill Presbyterian let me offer an insight; When I first came here, there were a number of strong voices. I observed they were not singing from the same song sheet. There were competing philosophies of life and ministry talking past one another and not really listening to or seeking unity with the other. This is changing but I think it is part of our recent history we still have to process.
Secondly, as with many Presbyterian churches, there has been an unspoken yet strong resistance to change. We tend to eulogise the past at the expense of where God is leading us now. The Covid time has been a fracturing in the settled reality, affecting ministries, resources and individuals to varying degrees. It has felt like everything has been on hold, or even partly destroyed.
However, during that time, God has been able to do a work for those who have ears to hear. For some it has been an inner soul work of the Spirit, but also for others, a lifestyle change. Maybe both. Crisis provides God's opportunity, as we saw with the Christchurch earthquakes a decade back. Some church communities folded, others innovated and found new life amid collaborations. We can cling to the past, or hear with Isaiah; 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' (Is 43:19)
Of course our recent experiences of Covid crisis co-exist with all the other changes in economics, demographics and politics in our land, not to mention wars and oil shocks in the wider world. We can be drowned by the rapids of change, or learn to navigate them differently. Remember, God wants to share guidance, fellowship and hospitality with us along the way, as Revelation 3:19-20 reminds us. Yet we must open that door.