When the Husband Gets Kicked Out of the House

by Tad Lindley

My wife has never kicked me out of the house, and yet I know it happens to other husbands. Recently I saw in the Bible that a guy had gotten kicked out of the house. It was a scripture I have read a hundred times, but I never noticed what was really happening.

Mystery scripture

Here is the Bible verse that proves that a husband got kicked out of the house: Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20) Read it again and create a picture in your mind to go with the verse. Hopefully you see a person standing outside of a door knocking. They also must be calling out, because their voice is being used. Finally there must be someone inside the door.

Who are the people?

We know Jesus is the person outside, because he is the one that says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” The person or people inside the building are the church in Laodicea. This single verse is part of a longer message to the church in the city of Laodicea. Just to be clear, Jesus is outside the building, and the church is inside the building.

Who is the husband?

Jesus is the husband. Ephesians 5:23 tells us, For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church… In Revelation 19:7-10 we read about the wedding supper of the Lamb, in which the Lord is united in marriage to the church. If the Lord is the husband, then the church is the wife.

What is Jesus doing outside?

Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20) Why is Jesus outside? Jesus is supposed to be inside the church, but somehow he is outside. This is wrong. The husband is supposed to be with his bride, but apparently he has been kicked out of the house and is knocking on the door hoping that someone will recognize his voice and let him in.

How did he get kicked out?

If you go back and read the entire letter to the church in Laodicea you will see how Jesus got kicked out of the church. In short, they began to fall out of love with him. They got lukewarm in their relationship. No longer were they excited to go to church. They got more excited about other things to be honest. Revelation 3:17 tells us that they got more interested in wealth and things. And although they started out with Jesus in the church, by the time we get to verse 20, there he is, outside, alone, wanting and waiting, hoping that someone will hear the knock and recognize the voice.

Have you kicked him out?

Sometimes we choose a path in our lives in which Jesus is not really a compatible travel partner. His voice is quite clear about using alcohol and other drugs. We cannot engage in intoxication and be saved (see I Corinthians 6:9-11). And so before we smoke a bowl we have to turn to Jesus and say, “Lord, why don’t you go get a fresh air? And come back when I’m done smoking.” Or maybe we go all in on an immoral lifestyle and although we once believed in God, we now deny that Jesus even exists.

He wants you back

Notice in Revelation 3:20, that even though Jesus was kicked out, he still wants back in. If he was like you or me, he might have just walked away and told the church in Laodicea, “Forget you, I’ll go find myself another church.” But that is not how Jesus is. He loves us. Until the day we die, should we die lost, he will be there knocking on the door, calling out to us to unlock it and let him in. How about you? Is Jesus inside your life or outside your life?

Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.

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