There are a lot of sounds here in Xining.  Car horns, cell phones, musical tunes that emanate from garbage trucks or signify the start of classes at schools, firecrackers, and voices–to name just a sampling.  Today as I walked home from school I heard a "new" version of the song that goes, "Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door…" The song was blaring over a loudspeaker at a car dealership.  It was one of them new-fangled "techno" versions of the song that sounds a bit robotic.

I’ve heard this song once before in Xining.  I find it intriguing because heaven is, in fact, knocking on Xining’s door… This is usually the case.  In the words of Rob Bell, "heaven has come crashing into earth."  This is what Jesus means when he says the "kingdom of heaven" is at hand. We are just physical examples of the opening reality of Christ–hopefully, in word and deed.

Behold, He stands at the door and knocks…

So, OPEN UP!