When Jesus Asks for the Keys
Have you ever had a houseguest? You know, the kind who politely stays within their designated space, careful not to intrude too much on your daily routine? I've been thinking about this lately as my wife and I are hosting a friend while he transitions his family to Pittsburgh. Though I've told him "my house is your house," he naturally maintains a particular footprint in our home. If I came home to find him taking a nap in my bed, there'd be problems!
Truth is... many treat Jesus the same way – like a polite houseguest with limited access to the home in our heart. We give Him the spiritual equivalent of a guest bedroom and bathroom, but keep other areas marked "private." We're happy to have Him visit on Sundays or during our morning devotions, but we hesitate to give Him full access to our career decisions, financial choices, relationships, and our dreams.
But here's the thing... when Jesus said "abide in me" in John 15, He wasn't asking for a guest pass, He was asking for the keys to every room in our lives.
You see, it's one thing to know intellectually that Jesus wants full access to our lives, it's another thing entirely to hand over the keys to those carefully guarded spaces we like to keep for ourselves. You know the ones I'm talking about... maybe it's that relationship you know doesn't honor Him, or those financial decisions you'd rather not bring into the light, or those entertainment choices that slowly pull you away from His presence.
Jesus uses a powerful metaphor in John 15 to drive this point home. He compares our relationship with Him to a branch connected to a vine. A branch can't bear fruit if it's barely hanging on, only partially connected. It needs to be fully, continuously connected to the vine to receive the life-giving sap that produces fruit.
That's what real abiding looks like. It's not a casual Sunday morning connection, but a moment-by-moment reliance on His presence and power. It's about allowing Jesus to flow through every room of our lives, not just the ones we've designated as "spiritual spaces."
The beautiful paradox is this, the more we surrender those closed-off spaces to Jesus, the more His life can flow through our mess and create something beautiful. That's what He does... He takes our cluttered, complicated lives and transforms them into showcases of His grace. But He can only do this in the rooms where we've given Him the keys.
I'm learning (sometimes painfully) that abiding isn't about achieving some level of spiritual perfection. It's about surrender. It's about acknowledging our mess and inviting Jesus into it. Because here's the truth... He's not looking for polished guest rooms. He's looking for full access to our real lives, messy corners and all.
So today, I'm challenging myself – and you – to look honestly at our lives. What rooms have we marked "off limits" to Jesus? What keys are we still clutching tightly in our hands? Maybe it's time to trust Him with those spaces too.
What keys do you need to hand over today?
Keep looking up,
Pastor Alan Hannah
Pastor Alan is the lead pastor of Allegheny Center Alliance Church. To find out more about ACAC, go here.
