“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come and make our home with him.” (John 14:23 NIV)

This has to be one of the great promises of scripture.  This is not about being with Jesus and the Father in heaven in the future.  This is about now.  Jesus is saying that if we open our heart, soul, and mind to him and follow his teaching that he and the Father will take up residence in us.  They will live with us and be present to us like family. 

Jesus answers the further question of how this can come about in his additional promise in Revelation 3:20 when he says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” He promises a special friendship if we open the door of our hearts to him.

We can ask Jesus about anything – our daily choices, our decisions at work, how we relate to people, how we respond to a neighbor sharing a need, and how we love our families and the people in our lives.     

A few years ago, at a Catholic ministry outreach to the county jail, an inmate asked about how a person can relate to Jesus.  I’m thinking about how I should respond to him.  The thought came into my mind to share about a personal encounter I once had with the Lord that changed the course of my life.  I thought, “is that what you want me to do, Lord?”   I felt like he said yes, so I shared my experience.  After I shared, two other inmates who had been attending our sessions, shared their personal stories of having a personal encounter with Jesus.  Inmates are very cautious about what they share in front of other inmates so as not to show any weakness. Their stories made my story even more credible to the inmate who asked the question.  It was one of the best discussions we ever had.    

Jesus is available to us 24/7.  If he has taken up residence in us, we can ask him any question any time.

Have you opened the door of your heart to Jesus and invited him to take up residence?