There is a door
That leads to God’s dwelling
A wonderful castle
Fully compelling
A place in which
Man is set free
Reunited with God
As intended to be.
There you will find answers
To mysteries and more
Yet I rarely go in -
But I stand at the door.
No use going inside
When many are out
Craving to know
the door's whereabouts
Lost in the fog
and roaming around
Hoping to see
where the door might be found
But with great disappointment
and to their fall
They reach out their hands
and find only a wall
A wall where they know
a door must be
So I stand at the door -
and I help them see
Finding the door
is the most important thing
For this is the door
That leads to the king
Men feel along the wall
and forever they trod
Looking for this door
that leads them to God
Men die outside the door,
as beggars in the cold
Looking for the door
until they grow old
Dying for wanting
what is right in their grasp
If only someone reached out
and put their hand on the latch
If someone stayed outside
and helped all these men
Open this door,
Walk in, and find Him
To help a man find God -
and not roam anymore
To me, nothing else matters -
so I stand at the door.
Go in great saints -
go all the way in!
Explore the spacious house
where God’s always been
Dive into the rooms
with awe and amazement
Search the attics, the kitchen,
the porch and the basement
Ask questions of wonder
and search all things greater
Spend nothing but time
with your wonderful Creator
I long to be with you
And the joy of it all
But it seems my place
Is closer to the wall
Yes, as much as I’d love
to go in and explore
God has called me here -
to help men find the door.
Not only do I stand here
to serve as I guide
I stand here also
for those halfway inside
For those who make it
and finally, find the door
But suddenly decide
they don’t want it anymore
Those who become
overwhelmed by His awe
Who suddenly change their mind
and don’t want it at all
Someone must remind them
of where they have been
When they searched for years
but couldn’t get in
Someone must remind them
of the life they had before
And encourage them to keep going
- so I stand at the door.
I admire the people
who find their way through
But I wish they wouldn’t forget
they were once outside too
Before they got in -
then they might lend a hand
And reach those men
who don’t understand
Those who haven’t found God
Those who are far astray
Those who maybe found God
But who want to run away
Yes you can go in too deep
and you can stay too long
So here at this door
is where I believe I belong
Close enough to God to hear Him
And always wanting more
But close enough to men to be here
And help them find the door.
I’ll stand here at the door
and help them who scale the wall
Hundreds. Thousands. Millions.
There’s no way I’ll reach them all.
Yes - even If I can only
help a few to God’s castle
I’ll stand here forever,
it’ll be worth the hassle
Consider standing with me
and maybe we'll reach double
But fully expect nothing
but hardships and trouble.
The door is uncomfortable
Not a popular place to be
And no one will thank you
Your work will not be seen
It's dangerous and scary
The hardest thing you'll ever do
Taking someone's hand
And helping them through
But there is joy in staying
And being a guide
In fact, there's more joy
Watching others go inside
Yes, do stay here with me
and together we’ll reach more
But even if you can't
- I’ll stay here at the door.
The idea for this poem is from Sam Shoemaker's, "I Stand at the door." This was shared with me a few years ago and I read it almost monhtly. It bothered me so much that it didn't rhyme, so I rewrote it and figured I would share it with you. Hope you enjoy it!
http://www.thejaywalker.com/pages/shoemaker.html
