Closing and opening

It is human nature to always be closing or opening.

I know a woman who, over the years, so closed her mind that she ended up closing out her own family. She passed her last years full of herself, but alone. The only light in her life was the dim light of the TV. Death closed in.

I know a church that once had hundreds of members. The most common sound, besides praise, prayer, and preaching, was the sound of children. But as old age closed in on the church leaders, they closed off every chance for the younger members to try new things. Now, less than 20 bitter people huddle in the chilly church building where 300 used to raise the roof in praise. Death is closing in.

I know a nation that was once open to all challenges and all comers. It was open to a great and growing plurality of all kinds of people. It was so open to new ideas that people called it “the American experiment.” Now, the loudest voices in the land are calling citizens to close their hands into fists, their hearts into wrecking balls, and their minds into memes. Citizens are closing ranks and closing in on themselves, thickening into dark masses of self-destruction.

When people (or churches or nations) close themselves, it comes with a twist: They lose the thing they were trying to keep safe (Gospel of Luke 17:33).

Closing is a death spiral.

But, good news.

God is not closing; God is opening. Always opening.

The Christ is the sign of this truth.

In the Christ, we find that God is opening…

…heaven to the sinners ahead of the saints (Gospel of Matthew 21:31)…

…his kingdom to everyone, not just those who were once presumed to be the only ones (Letter to the Romans Chapter 11).

…the lives of his people to their neighbors, strangers, and especially their enemies (Gospel of Matthew 5:38-48)…

…and even the grave itself! In raising the Christ from the dead, God shows that opening, not closing is his will…and therefore our destiny.

Good news: The future is open.

Do you believe this? Do you believe that the love and power that opened the Christ’s grave can and will open whatever is closed?

This is not a religious question because God is not interested in religion.

God is interested in the “birds of the air” and “grass of the field” (Gospel of Matthew 6:26-30). God is interested in every hair on your head (Gospel of Matthew 10:30). God is interested in life. All life. Your life. And the life of everything that is dear to you is dear to God, too.

Do you believe this?

Then open yourself to the God who opens.

Ask God to help you put aside the fear that you use as an excuse to close in, close off, and close out. Pray for help to be open to the God who is opening: People, churches, nations, the whole world. Even the grave.

The future is open. Don’t close yourself off from it.