There was once a man who was searching for a perfect home in the mountains. He had seen many houses but could not find the one that he would call home. One day his Realtor drove him up a long, winding road to a house at the very top of a mountain.
When they reached the house, the man saw a sad structure. It was a very old building, unpainted and long abandoned. The shutters were falling off, the front porch was rotting away, and the once beautiful front door was broken. He tried to walk around to the back, but the house had been built right on the edge of a cliff. There was no way to get in except through the broken front door.
As he climbed rotted steps, the man began to wonder why the Realtor had brought him to such an odd house. He eased the squeaking door open just enough to see cobwebs and dust in the stale air from years of abandonment.
AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY
But once completely inside, the man noticed a bright light coming from the back. He walked forward toward a majestic door made of mahogany and leaded glass. Through the cut glass, light beamed and glimmered throughout the house.
He opened the beautiful door and stepped out onto a perfectly maintained porch with fresh paint and inviting rocking chairs. The view that had been hidden at the front of the home was now spectacularly visible.
Gazing across the valley, he saw the horizon stretch to eternity. The river below led to an impressive waterfall. Birds glided on the updrafts, and he could hear distant sounds of children laughing and church bells ringing. It was as if he were looking over all of creation. With no hesitation, the man told the Realtor that he would buy the house.
Many years passed. Drawn by the beauty of the light through the back door and the brilliant view from the back porch, the man began to make the house his home. He painted, repaired, and arranged the interior so guests could enjoy the view and experience the same light and beauty that he had seen.
But he forgot about one thing: the front of the home. Guests drove up and saw the front porch still rotted out and the front door still broken. He had not taken the time to fix up the front of his house because he knew that what was inside it was far more important. But every time someone visited, he felt a small twinge of pain as his guest had to walk through the old broken door into his now beautiful home.
It was time to work on the broken front door.
EXPLAINING THE PARABLE
We are the broken door! We are in need of repair. Perhaps our door only needs the hinges oiled. Perhaps it needs to be planed to fit the opening now that the house has settled over the years. Perhaps it has some spots in need of putty, sanding and refinishing. Still, no matter what it needs, it can be opened even in its broken condition.
The interior of the home is our heart, soul, and mind. These are the areas we first need to repair to make them appealing to the guests we invite inside.
Our guests are those people we encounter every day. Everyone we meet – at home, at work, and in our community – can see by our actions and our words what is in our hearts.
That magnificent, beautiful, and perfect back door is Jesus Christ our Savior. The view from the back porch is the view of God.
That glorious view is obscured completely unless one enters through the broken front door. Even though our door squeaks and is out of square, people can still enter and experience the Christ in us.
Upon entering, your guests will experience the warmth and love inside. They will quickly see that you have situated everything in your home around the streaming light of Jesus Christ, the only door that leads to God.
Now comes the challenging part. We cannot, we must not, wait until the front door is perfect before inviting others into our life to meet Jesus. We do need to work on our door. The weathering and deterioration of the door is the sin in our life. The rain of selfishness and the wind of worldly concerns will always beat on our door.
But if we wait for perfection, we will deny others the opportunity to meet Jesus. And it is through Jesus that we bring others to God. Jesus calls us as we are – broken – to be the door through which others can enter to meet Him.
Brian Pusateri, founder of 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries, is a Catholic author and speaker. This was previously published at brokendoorministries.com.