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Revelation 3:19–20
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…”

These words to Laodicea are often misunderstood as an invitation to the lost, but Jesus is speaking to His church. Imagine that—Christ outside the door of a congregation that bears His name. They had grown lukewarm, self-satisfied, and unaware of their spiritual poverty. Yet Jesus does not walk away. He knocks.

His rebuke is not rejection—it is affection. “As many as I love, I rebuke…” Conviction is not the anger of God; it is the alarm clock of God. He refuses to let His children sleep through their own spiritual decay. When He knocks hard, it is because He loves deeply.

Laodicea believed they had everything—wealth, comfort, influence. But Jesus tells them they lacked the one thing that mattered: fellowship with Him. External success had smothered internal devotion. Awakening begins when we recognize that Christ desires closeness more than He desires our performance.

Jesus invites them to “repent,” but not with reluctance—with zeal. Lukewarmness cannot be defeated by half-hearted effort. It takes urgency, intensity, and a willingness to throw off spiritual sluggishness. Repentance is not dreary—it is the doorway to intimacy.

The image of Christ knocking is one of extraordinary grace. He does not force His way in. He invites. He waits. He calls. Revival begins when we hear the knock and open the door. And when we do, He promises fellowship—deep, sweet fellowship that restores what our indifference has weakened.

If God is knocking hard in your life right now—through conviction, through discomfort, through restlessness—do not resent it. Thank Him. He knocks because He wants you back. He knocks because He loves you enough to interrupt your drift. He knocks because He desires to dine with you again.

Today, open the door. Let Him in.