We’ve all done it before: either the door was left cracked open or it remained unlocked, and in we barged. We didn’t know that on just the other side of the door someone was seeking privacy as they stood in front of the mirror getting ready for the day or as they sat shocked on the toilet.

I’ve been on both sides of that door, and I bet you have too.

In that moment, I’m both embarrassed and vulnerable. Why? A door was opened that should have remained closed. I’ve intruded or been intruded upon.

Bathroom talk aside, this imagery got me thinking about Matthew 7:7:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

It’s a simple verse, really. What’s the appropriate response to the action and there you go. Yet in our world, it’s rarely this simple. We have boundaries. We close off. We seek privacy.

Meanwhile, God has an open door policy.

And so I thought about my own heart. How often do I lock the door to my heart, my family, my home? How often do I shut down because I don’t want the inconvenience of talking with someone? How often do I refuse to be vulnerable because that means sharing “too much”? How often do I freeze because I think saying or doing nothing maintains my control?

God poked at me a little bit, What if you left that door cracked?

Peaking out of the door I saw opportunities to show compassion and receive the care of others. I saw an opportunity to learn from people that I have been unwilling to know because all too often that means being known. I saw God working through me to give radically as He filled my spirit to depths I haven’t known.

All this being said, I highly recommend knocking on all literal doors before opening.