My office is downstairs, but I make frequent trips upstairs to various rooms in my house for one thing or another. Unfortunately, by the time I get upstairs, I often forget what I was planning to do when I got there. Researcher Gabriel Radvansky has come up with an explanation for this phenomenon. He proposes that a doorway serves as an "event boundary".
After conducting three different experiments, he theorized that a doorway signals the brain that the information held in memory can be filed away - but it's frustrating when I'm standing there trying to remember why I came upstairs. However, forgetfulness can be a blessing. When I shut the door to our bedroom at night and settle down to sleep, it's a blessing to forget the worries of the day.
When I think of the fact that Jesus called Himself "the door" (John 10:7,9), I gain a new appreciation for this metaphor. When sheep enter the pen, they enter a safe place protected from thieves and predators. For believers, the Great Shepherd is the door between us and our enemies. Once we enter the sheepfold, we can "forget" all dangers and threats. We can enjoy divine forgetfulness and rest in the protection of the Great Shepherd. Christ is the door that keeps us in and keeps the dangers out.
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