The Door That Leads To God - And Why I'll Never Go in.

The Door

Kevin McNeil 

Original Idea from Sam Shoemaker 

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