Last night something familiar happened. I came home and the door to the apartment was locked. No one was home. I didn't have my keys. The night was cold and the wind was sharp. No shelter was found in the lounge, people were watching a movie, and another group was studying in the kitchen area. I walked one loop around the complex before resigning to my fate that I would have to sit on the cold stone by the fire. The brick was hard and chilly. The fire kept my feet warm but did not spread heat to the rest of my body. I was alone, I was cold, I was locked out.
As I peered behind me at every noise hoping it was a roommate with a key to let me in, a thought entered my head.
"This is how it would feel to be denied at the door to the Celestial Kingdom."
I sat stunned. The power of this realization pounded my heart and squeezed my stomach. What if I was rejected from entering back into Heavenly Father's presence? Since I was not going to be doing anything out in the cold, I took the time to reflect on how I felt and the emotion that was flowing through me.
The cold didn't just enter my body it entered my spirit. What a distressing, chilling, and agonizing feeling. To be blocked from returning to live with your family, how terrible! How truly, truly terrible. The sad thing, the thing that really sunk this all home, is that I didn't know when people would be home to let me in. Time inched by without any indication of when my suffering would end. I was literally left in the dark.
I was left in the cold, to ponder my error of not bringing my keys. Yet, as I pondered, other errors and short comings in my life started to come to mind, things I need to fix. Things that need to be corrected in order for me to enter the door to where Heavenly Father is.
This real experience illustrated something that I really needed to learn. A locked door like the virgins without oil. Am I lacking oil? Will I miss the Bridgegroom? Will I knock and knock only to be told that He does not know me?
Faith to overcome fear allows individuals to make necessary changes by trusting in the Lord and his atonement. Through that, human nature is altered and drawn closer to His example. We can make the changes necessary to hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Don't let a locked door stand between you and the comfort and safety of where you really want to be. Whether is be a warm bed, or an eternity with your family in the Kingdom of God.
