The Door Metaphor in the Bible: Who Crouches and Who Knocks?

I saw something today in the juxtaposition of two scripture verses. First of all, I am reminded that Cain was warned by God that “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7) In Revelation, we read these words from Jesus: “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

I have not considered these two verses in relation to each other before, but the contrast strikes me today. Both verses deal with the metaphor of a door. I have not thought through the ramifications of that metaphor, except to draw the following conclusion: Sin crouches, while God knocks!

This contrast is particularly poignant to me today. Perhaps, nothing illustrates the difference between God and sin, right and wrong, good and evil, more than this contrast in door metaphors.

The image of sin crouching at the door is the image of a figure lurking in silence in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to seize. If the door is opened, sin seizes the opportunity allowed by stealth and surprise to gain entry and wreak havoc.

Sin is no gentleman, unless it suits him to gain entry. Sin would just as well break the door down to get in as to be invited. It doesn’t matter to sin whether an invitation is extended or not; sin will gain entry however it can.

Sin is opportunistic. It takes advantage of surprise, vulnerability, and weakness. If sin announced itself, we might have sense enough to keep the door shut.

If sin revealed itself candidly to us, we would never open the door to invite it in. Sin is horrendously ugly, grotesque, and rotten, but sin hides its true character and revels in silence, deception, ignorance, and opportunity to do harm.

If sin revealed itself and announced itself, we would not open the door, but sin does not reveal itself or announce itself. Sin takes advantage of our lack of awareness and ignorance. Sin takes advantage of our lack of readiness. Sin comes in when our guard is down

I am reminded of another verse in relation to sin: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Peter puts a name to sin – the devil – because sin is personal, and it wages war for our hearts and souls.

Nothing like a lion’s guttural, roar strikes fear in the heart, but a lion does not roar when it is on the prowl. Lions are known for their stealth. They stalk their prey silently. They lie in wait, camouflaged in the tall grass, with the intention of catching prey with its guard down, unsuspecting, and unprepared.

If the prey knew of the lion’s presence, the prey would be on high alert and be ready to run off at the snap of a twig or the slightest movement in the grass. A lion is successful because of its ability to prowl in silence, conceal itself and stalk unnoticed into striking range. Like sin crouching at the door, a lion crouches silently in the grass, ready to pounce on an unsuspecting victim.

These images contrast with the statement in Revelation that Jesus stands at the door and knocks. In contrast to sin and Satan, Jesus/God is a perfect gentleman. He is who He appears to be. He announces his presence. He knocks, and He allows us to open the door – if we want to.

God is not opportunistic like sin. God extends an invitation, announces His presence, and allows us to choose to open the door, knowing what is on the other side.

God will not rush in. He will not break down the door. He does not trick us into opening the door, and He does not take advantage.

Even if we open the door, but we are unwilling or uncertain, He will not push His way in. He does not force himself on us, even if that means that He remains outside, shut off from us by our unwillingness to allow Him in.

I have often reflected on the fact that love is consensual, and a primary characteristic of love is mutuality. Love does not force itself on another. Love is reciprocal. Love does not take advantage. Love desires the best of another. Love honors the distinctiveness and separateness of others.

Since “God is love” (1 John 4:7), God demonstrates all these things that we instinctively know are true of real love. Thus, God does not deceive or seek to surprise us and catch us unaware.

I have written about these characteristics of God in the past, but today I am thinking more about sin than about God because of my failing. It seems that I am often caught unaware when I sin. Though I should be more vigilant and ready to resist sin, I often don’t realize that sin is upon me until it is virtually too late.

Perhaps, this is why scripture tells us to be on the alert and ready to flee from sin like fleeing from a lion. If we open the door to sin, if we allow sin to remain close to us, sin seizes the opportunity.

In particular, we are instructed to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18) and not just sexual immorality, but to flee from “controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction” and greed and the “love of money” as well. (1 Timothy 6:2-11)

The imagery of sin crouching and prowling around like a lion seeking who it may devour is an apt image of sin. This imagery suggests that we should not linger in the vicinity of sin any more than we would want to linger in the vicinity of a prowling lion. Even before we become aware of sin, we are in danger. When we become aware of the presence of sin lurking, it is almost too late. for this reason, we need to be sober and alert and ready to flee at a moment’s notice!

Fortunately, if we do sin, we have an advocate. We have Jesus, who sacrificed himself to sin for our sake so that we do not have to bear the consequences of sin. (1 John 2:1-2) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us. (1 John 1:9)

At the same time, we should not give in to sin. God’s grace is not our opportunity to go on sinning! (Romans 6) If we are alive now to Christ, we should be dying to sin.

If we become aware of sin, we should not open the door to it. We should resist it and run from it. I say these things as a reminder to myself about the need to remain vigilant and be on guard to refuse to let sin master me.

At the same time, we should open the door to Jesus who knocks. We should submit ourselves not to sin, which seeks to devour us, but to God who loves us and desires to give us all good things.

Finally, I am reminded that God, also, is like a lion, but He is a lion who we can Trust:

“The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem; his loud voice will thunder from that city, and the sky and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a safe place for his people, a strong place of safety for the people of Israel.” (Joel 3:16)