The Key Power of the I

The Key Power of the I

At all possible times the world, with all that goes wrong in it, pushes itself into our lives and demands our attention.  Illness, famine, climate crisis, conflicts, and wars—we cannot escape from alarming reports.  Closing ourselves off from them is of course not the solution.  That would in the long run make us unsociable outsiders.

But from time to time, we do need a key to close the door, so we are not inundated by the tidal wave of misery the world pours over us every day.  The more we are confronted with this, the more does a feeling of impotence threaten to paralyze us.

The Apocalypse has a name for this key that can create boundaries for us: “The key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.” (Rev.3:7)

To keep our footing in the whirlpool of events we have to close the door time and again and check in with ourselves before we let the world come into us again.  Only in that way can we let life penetrate into us without losing ourselves in it.  This holds true for everyone and everything that comes to meet us from outside.  Out of self-preservation we often have to say: “Not right now.”  “The key of David, … who shuts and no one opens.”

It is not only needed to shut out the world, but also to open our own inner space and check in with ourselves.  “The key of David, who opens and no one shall shut …”  What should I do?  What is being asked of me right now?  When we want to serve the world it is more than ever necessary to take ourselves in hand, to become lord and master over ourselves as kings in our own realm.

In this kingdom, Christ wants to continue His creation on earth—as “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Rev.19:16)

-Rev. Bastiaan Baan, October 24, 2021