On a European tour, the master magician and locksmith Harry Houdini found himself locked in by his own thinking. After he had been searched and manacled in a Scottish town jail, the old jailer shut him in a cell and walked away. Houdini quickly freed himself from his shackles and then tackled the cell lock. But despite all his efforts, the lock wouldn’t open. In exhaustion he leaned against the door and it swung open—the jailer had not locked it.
Houdini’s situation was similar to many today regarding their souls. They are locked in a prison of darkness because of the sin in their lives. They try desperately to remove the shackles that bind them and then move to the door of the prison that holds them captive.
Confident they can open the door on their own, they labor tirelessly without success . . . unknown to them the door was unlocked centuries ago when the Lamb of God was offered on Calvary’s cross! They need simply to open the door through obedience to the gospel of Christ.
—Ronnie Scherffius
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).