"Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and the door will be open,
Ask and it shall be given,
And the love comes a tumblin' down"
The chorus from a song we would sing at a Christian camp I attended. I never really knew what it meant, and it meant very little to me other than it had a catchy tune.
Now it means, and I believe Jesus (who I believe was practicing many Buddhist teachings) meant it that we are all the creators of our lives. If we want truth (salvation?) we need to ask, knock, seek. We will find paradise if we do. It is right here with us. In questioning, our own minds will find the answers. We are not apart from God, we are part of God.
2007-09-08 03:36:35
·
answer #1
·
answered by NRPeace 5
·
3⤊
0⤋
I think, basically, he meant you have to take an active part in your own salvation. Imagine this: If you walked up to a closed door, and just stood there, would it open to you? Not likely. But if you knocked, then the door would open and you could enter. The same with Heaven....if you ask to enter, through Jesus Christ, then you may enter.
2007-09-07 12:32:45
·
answer #2
·
answered by claudiacake 7
·
1⤊
1⤋
God/Reality is responsive to consciousness. You find what you seek. Knock and the door will open. In the Gospel of Thomas an even clearer version - Seek and continue seeking until you find, when you find you will be troubled, THEN you will be astonished and will rule over all. These are psychological metaphors for the struggle between the authentic Christ Self and the learned, brain-washed ego identity - whose subconscious beliefs control our perception and experience of reality.
2007-09-07 15:45:44
·
answer #3
·
answered by MysticMaze 6
·
4⤊
1⤋
The historical Jesus spoke about, and enacted, the living presence of the divine in and as all things. In other words, Jesus' lived focus was on what he called the kingdom of God. In his language, "kingdom" is a verb form -- it refers to an activity more than a place.
That living divine presence is always already here and now, we just tend not to see it, we just tend not to appreciate it. (And later Christians, from Paul on, assumed Jesus' references to the kingdom were about something in the future.)
Luke 17:21 has Jesus saying, "The kingdom of God is among you," which can also be translated, "the kingdom of God is amidst you" or "within you." In the Gospel of Thomas, the same saying reads, "the kingdom of God is spread out upon the earth, and people just don't see it."
I very much sense that that was what Jesus had in mind in inviting his listeners to "knock" -- to open their eyes and ears, to open their hearts and minds, to appreciate the living Wonder that is always already here, spread out among and amidst us ... but that we just tend not to acknowledge, caught up as we are in our motivated distractions and personal obsessions.
The "knock and it will be opened" saying reminds me of the playful image from the Sufis:
A seeker was knocking on the door of God's house. He knocked and knocked and knocked. Finally one day the door opened ... and he realized he'd been knocking from the inside.
.
2007-09-08 10:22:47
·
answer #4
·
answered by bodhidave 5
·
2⤊
0⤋
In times of grief knock at the door of Christ for redemption provided you have faith in him.
2007-09-11 08:26:43
·
answer #5
·
answered by Mani 2
·
0⤊
0⤋
if we knock on the door of heaven it will be opened upto u if u live in the way of god or we keep on praying to god about something and that is knocking on gods heart and te opening up of the door is when we get answered for our prayers. we have to keep on praying and wait for answer and never give up
2007-09-07 13:59:47
·
answer #6
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
It means that Jesus Christ won't force you to believe in Him, He won't force you to follow Him.
It is your choice. He is extending the gift of salvation to you, all you have to do is take it.
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this sinful and adulterous generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38
My prayer for my unsaved friends and family is that they will hear Jesus standing there knocking, will realize their need for a Savior, and open the door and let Him in.
2007-09-07 12:42:03
·
answer #7
·
answered by redeemed 5
·
1⤊
1⤋
Even though a way forward appears to be blocked. Attempt to signal someone on the other side of the blockage and you may find the blockage removed.
If you do nothing. It will most likely that the blockage will remain.
2007-09-08 04:06:31
·
answer #8
·
answered by Bryan G 3
·
1⤊
0⤋
I think that he meant it in a prescriptive, not descriptive way. That is to say, he meant go out and actively look for what you want - if you don't knock, it won't be opened.
2007-09-07 12:30:26
·
answer #9
·
answered by greyguy 6
·
1⤊
1⤋
Read the Verse in Luke 11:5-10
=======================
Jesus tells a parable, you go to a friend who is off to bed and ask for some help. He is unwilling, but if you persist, he will do it for you, not because he is your friend, but because you are persistent!
Likewise WE HAVE TO BE PERSISTENT IN PRAYERS.
2007-09-08 08:28:59
·
answer #10
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋