Open Door

"Arf! Arf!" I heard as I lay on the sofa for a rest. "Arf! Arf!" repeated every few minutes. I knew it was the family dog, Pebbles, probably demanding a treat from my husband who was having a late lunch in the kitchen.

"Arf! Arf!" The staccato bark was steady, finally responded to by her master, our grandson Adam, coming down from upstairs.

"I don't know what she's barking at," I offered as he opened the front door. Oh, she was outside and the sofa was near the door. No wonder I heard her so clearly! In a few minutes they were back, Adam cradling her and stroking her soothingly.

"She couldn't get in the house," he explained, setting her gently on the floor. What? Couldn't get in? Doesn't she have a doggy door? I thought.

"She couldn't figure out the ramp," Adam said. O-oh, Howard had just had a ramp installed at the back door. "She was going under the ramp," he laughed, as he carefully set the aging dog down. "I had to show her to her doggy door at the top," he said fondly.Well, I guess it's true, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, as the old saying goes.

I was reminded of a song the children used to sing in church. "We're building up the temple... we're building up the temple...we're building up the temple of the Lord...it's so high you can't get over it, so low you can't get under it...so wide you can't get around it, you must come in at the door."

Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." (John 10:7). And again in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."

I have heard that the shepherds often built sheep enclosures on the hills, but an opening was left for them to enter. It is said that the shepherd lay across the opening, he himself was the door.

Jesus also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." I think of an illustration I heard about a guide leading a safari. The group became alarmed when the path was no more discernible. "Where is the path?" they cried out. The guide stated, "I am the path."

May we always find the Door that is open to us!