The Sign

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

—John 10:9 

I picked up the wooden sign I received as a gift. The desk was not the right spot for it.

Over the living room doorway would be perfect!

I rummaged through my tool box for two sturdy nails, all the while rethinking my decision. What if the sign falls while someone is walking underneath it? What if one of my precious grandbabies is crawling through? I shuddered to think of the unthinkable.

Eventually concluding it was the best place for the sign, I resolved to make sure the nails would hold the sign securely in place. I measured the distance between the two hangers attached to the back of the sign and marked two places on the ruler, respectively. Placing the ruler against the wall, I dotted the wall where the nails would go and then hammered them into place. I hung the sign and gave it a tug to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere. I tugged again just to be safe.

I stepped down from my pseudo-stepstool and looked up to read the sign:

A house is made of boards and beams

A home is made of love and dreams. 

And then I heard a song playing in the background. It went something like this: “It wasn’t the nails that held Him to the tree. It was His love that held Him there.” 

It wasn’t the nails that held my sign in place. It was my love that secured them, for I couldn’t bear to imagine what could happen. 

"It wasn't the nails that held my sign in place.
It was my love that secured them,
for I couldn't bear to imagine what could happen."

It was Jesus’ love for all of humanity that held Him to the cross. It was His immeasurable love that paid the price for our sin, His love that offered forgiveness for all, His love that removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) and His love that made a way to eternal life (Romans 6:23).

No one comes to the Father [in heaven] except through Jesus, for He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is the door (John 10:9). And He’s been tugging at your heart. Won’t you enter the door today? Enter and find rest in your eternal home made of love. 

Dear Lord, I am a sinner and I deserve death (Romans 6:23). But You died in my place because of Your great love (Romans 5:8), the measure of which is marked in two places—from one scarred hand to the other. Jesus, I accept Your forgiveness and ask You to be the ruler of my life today. Amen. 

God hung the sign of His love on a tree

Which opened heaven’s door for you and me.