The people too far in do not see how near these are To tell them how much better it is inside. Who seek to sneak out just where they came in, Somebody must be watching for the frightened One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.įor the old life, they have seen too much: ‘Let me out!’ they cry.Īnd the people way inside only terrify them more.

Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them įor God is so very great and asks all of us.Īnd these people feel a cosmic claustrophobiaĪnd want to get out. Some people get part way in and become afraid There is another reason why I stand there. It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.Īnd call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.īut my place seems closer to the opening. Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, They live on the other side of it – live because they have not found it. On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.ĭie for want of what is within their grasp. Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping handsĪnd put it on the latch – the latch that only clicks The most important thing that any man can do Is for men to find that door – the door to God. They creep along the wall like blind men,įeeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Is only the wall where the door ought to be. When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, There is no use my going way inside and staying there, It is the door through which men walk when they find God. The door is the most important door in the world – I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out. You can decide for yourself, but I invite you to read this and let God touch your heart with His call on your life – as he has mine. Shoemaker’s poem, but I am touched by it’s overall thrust and believe it is worth pondering on and being challenged by. I don’t know that I agree theologically with every line of Rev. And so, with a pastors heart, he wanted to minister to both groups and in the process reminding all of us of God’s Want Ads: Doorkeepers Needed! He was also concerned that there were some who, once they were inside the doors of the Church, seemed to have forgotten all about those who were still outside. He was concerned that there were people outside the Church who needed what was inside the Church. In this poem Rev Shoemaker seems to be speaking of the door to the Church. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you are probably aware of the fact that God put people in your life who helped you in your journey to God’s Salvation in Christ. He doesn’t have to use us in the process of bringing people to Himself but for His own purposes, He normally chooses to do just that.

God gives us the joy of co-laboring with Him in His vineyard (Pretty Neat!). God uses doorkeepers! Doorkeepers don’t need to draw attention to themselves, they simply need to have a heart for people and point them to Jesus Christ. He reminds us that those who have found the door need always to remember that God works to draw people and reach people. Sam Shoemaker, the late Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City, brings us back to basics. “For a day a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).

Usher poems church