In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, that most of us read in high school, Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, receives a would in a street fight.  When asked, Mercutio describes the wound this way,  “‘Tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a churh door; but ’tis enough, ’twill serve.”

I suppose that Shakespeare had the large doors of a cathedral in mind.  The doors that open to the foyer of our building are 12 feet total (if you open all four doors at once.  But somehow I think Shakespeare had a secondary meaning.  I think the width of a church door is not necessarily the physical width, but also alludes to what the Church should be.

The Church door should be wide enough to admit all people no matter their race, nationality, class, or financial situation.  Paul said, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”” (Col 3:11 ESV).

The Church door should be wide enough to receive those who no longer want to be immoral, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, covetous, alcoholics, and so on.  The church at Corinth had such wide doors.  After making a similar list to the one above, Paul writes, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor 6:11).

Jesus is the Door of the Church (Jn 10:7-9) and no one comes to the Father except by Him (Jn 14:6).  You and I do not decide who can and cannot come to God.  He widely opened the Door for all to have access to Him by obedient faith in Christ.

– Scott