I
Stand by the Door. By Sam Shoemaker
When I first went into the ministry 43 years ago, I
came across this poem. From time to time I review it as a reminder of the
mission to which I was called.
Stand by the Door. By
Sam Shoemaker
I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in nor stay too far out. The door is the most
important door in the world – It is the door through which men walk when they
find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there
when so many are still outside and they, as much as I, crave to know where the door
is and all that so many ever find Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men with outstretched, groping hands,
feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world Is for men to
find that door - the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do is to
take hold of one of those blind, groping hands and put it on the latch - the
latch that only clicks and opens to the man's own touch.
Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die on
cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter. Die for want of what is
within their grasp. They live on the other side of it - live because they have
not found it. Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it and open
it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.
Go in great saints; go all the way in - Go way down
into the cavernous cellars, and way up into the spacious attics. It is a vast,
roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements
of withdrawal of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms and
know the depths and heights of God, and call outside to the rest of us how
wonderful it is. Sometimes I take a deeper look in. Sometimes venture in a
little farther, but my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid
lest God and the zeal of His house devour them; for God is so very great and
asks all of us and these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia and want to get
out. 'Let me out!' they cry and the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled for the old
life, they have seen too much: One taste of God and nothing but God will do
anymore. Somebody must be watching for the frightened who seek to sneak out
just where they came in, to tell them how much better it is inside. The people
too far in do not see how near these are to leaving - preoccupied with the
wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door would
like to run away.
So for them too, I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in. But I wish they
would not forget how it was before they got in. Then they would be able to help
the people who have not yet even found the door or the people who want to run
away again from God. You can go in too deeply and stay in too long and forget
the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, near
enough to God to hear Him and know He is there but not so far from men as not
to hear them, And remember they are there too. Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them. But - more important
for me -
One of them, two of
them, ten of them, whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the
door and wait for those who seek it.
I had rather be a
door-keeper
So I stand by the door.
Thank you for all your prayers, encouraging
words and supportive partnerships in ministry over the years that have made it
possible for me to “stand by the door.”