NOTES for Rev 3:20

Where does the history of the Kingdom begin? With the coming of the Messiah, who brought it into the world? Yes, of course. But that is for the world. And for us? According to the Savior's word, the Kingdom is "within us" and "among us" (both the original Greek expression and the corresponding Aramaic expression allow both translations). Then there is only one place where the history of the Kingdom can begin for us: our heart.

What is the Kingdom? New life? Yes, of course. A world renewed and transfigured by the breath of God? Without doubt; the day will come when the Kingdom is revealed in all its fullness, and then everyone will see it. And yet, first of all, the Kingdom is perhaps those relationships that bind us to God, to Christ, and to our neighbors, because without them, without these relationships, there will be neither new life nor a new world. And relationships cannot be imposed; they can only be offered.

Even God cannot force a person to love Him. One can impose one's presence on another if one is stronger and has enough power to do so. If God, or the Messiah sent by Him, wanted that, a person would have nowhere to go. But God does not need anything of the kind, and Christ does not need it either: He came not to demonstrate power, but to save us from the sin in which the world lies and in which we ourselves lie. What is needed here is love, which cannot be imposed and can only be offered. And so the Savior knocks at our heart in the hope that we will open to Him. That we will open, so that the history of the Kingdom may begin for us as well.