Red Doors

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: (Matthew 25:35).

Across the world, a red door symbolizes welcome and a place of refuge. This is especially true for the poor, tired, and traveling. In early America, a traveler knew that a house with a red door meant a place where they would be welcome to stay the night or get a meal.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Exodus 12:12-13).

The offer of protection may stem from the time of Hebrew enslavement in Egypt. God told the Israelites to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, and death would pass them by when every other firstborn in the land was slain. In addition, Christian believers are symbolically covered and protected by the blood of Christ shed on the cross. Because of this, some early churches also painted their front doors red.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times (Martin Luther).

It is even rumored that when Martin Luther nailed up his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, the door he pinned it to was red at the time. His push for reform in the Catholic Church would lead to the beginnings of Protestantism.

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35).

Today, there's quite a few Christian organizations that use the red door in their title or as a logo. The red-door concept says that all people are welcome to come to Christ, and that His disciples open their hearts and resources to the needy. One such organization tells that they want to extend hope, safety, and a new start to those who need them. Shouldn't all Christians be about much the same? Christ was.

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