Standing at the Door

Standing at the Door

I just finished reading the poem, I Stand at the Door written by Samuel Moor Shoemaker. The poem recounts the thoughts of a character that is standing by a door. The door is a gateway to God. On the one side is heaven with all of its attractions. On the other side is a dark lost world. The door is the only way to God. The character in the poem debates with himself the side of the door on which he should stand on. He knows the way in. He knows where the door knob can be found. He realizes, however, that in the darkness on the side of door away from God, there are men and women groping along the wall trying to find the doorknob—trying to get it. The dilemma of the character in the poem is—if I go all the way in, I am afraid I might get so lost in God that I will forget the people on the other side that are seeking God. So, the main character feels that he must stay close to the door. Perhaps he can guide the hand of someone onto the knob so that she might come in. Perhaps he might convince those that do make it in and then get overwhelmed that they should stay. How far from the door will he go?

I think that sometimes, we are much like the character in this poem. We have found the door and ventured in and we get so caught up in the things of God that we forget that there are others outside of the door. We get so far away from the door that we can’t be of help to those that want in. Likewise, we can’t give advice to those that do make it in, but aren’t sure they want to stay. Perhaps, we need to stand closer to the door. Perhaps we need to remember that our goal is to bring others into the house—God’s house—and we can only do that if we are close enough to help when they try to get in.