You can open or lock up anything, quite easily, if you have the right keys. One turn, a hardly noticeable ‘click’ and the job is done in a moment.
A long time ago when my first child was just a year old, he managed to lock himself into the car. I had been loading groceries into the boot, my belly swollen with our second child, and he was sitting, contentedly, in his car seat holding the keys. It was freezing and we were both looking forward to getting home. I closed the boot, put the trolley into it’s little station nearby and it was then that I realised my mistake. The keys had been in the wrong hands! How foolish of me! What was supposed to be open was now shut. I was panicking much better before long: the windows were up and I was separated from my child and despite my best efforts he was not clicking the button to unlock everything. Some kind passer bys realised we were in a predicament and urged me not to break the window. A little crowd gathered and a roadside rescue team came and soon we were all cheering. No more drama, keys back in the right hands. One mama and her little boy went home and sat in an overly full bath to calm their…her…nerves.
That same boy dropped the same keys into the toilet once and they went all the way up and got stuck in the S bend. We didn’t have a spare key either. I searched the neighbourhood for those keys and, eventually, inspired by God Himself, I put my hand where I never want to put it again, and there they were. I would have kissed them if they had been found somewhere else. The fob wasn’t working (all those days of abuse) but the key worked perfectly.
When keys go missing or land up in the wrong hands, situations become tricky. Life becomes difficult, even dramatic. People get separated. We might not be able to get to where we need to go or actually get inside when we get there. We have to call the experts, who know how to force things open, to come and help. A simple task takes way longer. Things could even get smelly.
The right key in hand brings immense relief and gratitude.
Ancient and modern, unseen and surprisingly obvious; we are the custodians of untold number of keys. We have access to them whether it’s to unlock our child’s wounded heart or to solve problems on a national scale.
Acts 5 v 18 & 19 “They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.”
The next time we find ourselves flustered, perplexed or forcing issues without any luck, could it be that we need to approach the One who holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1 v 18) and everything else? The One who sends angels on errands to unlock prison doors will surely hear our cry for help.
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