Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

A friend of mine tells the story of an encounter he had with a very important government official-the head of state for a country. In the course of some meetings with my friend, the official came up to him and said, “I perceive that there is a difference between you and me. Is it because I come from a different denomination?” My friend began to explain why there was a difference.

“If you were to come to my home, I would invite you in as an honored guest. As my guest, you would enjoy everything I had in my home. However, you would still be a guest. You would not have the keys to the home, and your authority in that home would be merely as a guest. However, if I said to you that I am turning over my home to you and you now have the keys to my home, I would be your servant with the responsibility to run the home through your counsel and direction.” My friend continued, “This is the difference between you and me. I have given Jesus the keys to my home [heart]. You have merely invited Him in to yours as an honored guest.”

“How can I do this too?” The man replied. “All you have to do is invite Him in as the new owner.” The man did this and is now allowing Jesus to rule and reign in every detail of his life.

So often many of us enter a relationship with God that brings us salvation. This is the gospel of salvation. But what God really desires for us is to experience the gospel of the Kingdom. He wants us to experience His power and presence every day of our lives and to see His hand at work in us. This only happens when we give Him the key to our life; He must be more than an honored guest.

Where are you today? Has your life with God been more like an honored-guest relationship, or does He have the key to your life?

Excerpted with permission from the book TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman, copyright 2000, Destiny Image Publishers, Reprinted by permission. For free daily email subscription to TGIF Today God Is First marketplace meditations, visit www.marketplaceleaders.org