“The Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:9)

When I was a patrol sergeant, another agency called me to the scene of a barricaded suspect in their jurisdiction. A patrol officer tried to stop a vehicle occupied by a wanted suspect. Instead of stopping, the guy drove home, got out of the car, and went into the house. They called us because we had an arrest warrant for the guy.

I drove to the location with the warrant and found a large crowd had gathered in the neighborhood. The other agency had several patrol cars surrounding the area. Officers were behind cover watching the house. They all seemed to be trying to figure out how to coax the suspect out. This looks like fun, I thought.

When I got out, everyone looked at me like I was supposed to resolve the situation. I saw officers around every corner of the house, all looking for some direction. It was like they were saying, “You’ve got the warrant, you get him to come out.” I did have the warrant, I thought. So, I guess it was on me now.

Not knowing what had already been done to get the guy to surrender, I did what I always do. I knocked on the door. To everyone’s amazement, the suspect answered the door! I told him I had a warrant for his arrest. So, he surrendered, got in the patrol car, and went to jail. It was that easy. It was a deer-in-the-headlights moment for the pursuing patrolmen. I asked the suspect why he didn’t come out for the other officers. He said, “They didn’t ask me to.”

Sometimes it’s the simple things that make you look like a genius….

Of all the bad choices the suspect made that day, he got one thing right. He recognized that the guy at his door had authority, and he wisely surrendered to it. He opened the door! We should be so wise. The Creator of all things is knocking on the door. He has the authority to demand entry into our lives. Instead, He knocks. He won’t breach the door. He waits for us to open it and invite Him in. Love always gives the other person the right to choose.

Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Someone’s at the door. You may want to get that.