Partial Entrance!
September 28th, 2008
I recently heard of a guy and his friends who went to a Dallas Cowboy game and were accidentally ushered into the skybox area. They were so excited! But they quickly became very frustrated for it dawned on them that though they were in the skybox area, they wouldn’t be admitted into an actual skybox. It was like they were experiencing partial entrance, which just became Hell for ‘em – they were sooo frustrated – they were so close, but no cigar! I think that’s how real Hell must be. Some people, upon death, are ushered into Heaven’s front porch only to realize they aint gettin in those pearly gates – they can only see in. They’re sooo close, but no cigar… They can see inside – they can see the lazy-boys, the footbaths, the cashmere lap blankets, and everything else that’s so comforting. They can see the ‘reborn’ with their new healthy bodies, they can see all the fun that’s being had – they can see the love, but they can’t gain entrance. They’re like, “But we received our invitation and we’re here”… And Saint Peter said, “But you didn’t accept in time – you were supposed to accept before you die”! They said, “Well, it just sounded unreal – you know… too good to be true, and you know what they say… if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. Saint Peter explained that faith is nothing more than believing in that which you can’t proove, and that grace is extended when Jesus Christ put your name on the invitation list – He vouched for you – He said, “I know him – put him on the invitation list”. But again… you never accepted. St. Peter simply said, with tears in his eyes, “I’m terribly sorry, but you’ve waited too late – you may never come in – now, please step aside”. Now, I’m tellin ya… that’s gotta be Hell!!! (In other words, I believe an accurate description of Hell is seeing for yourself the absolute glory of Heaven, and realizing that you’ll never get in – never!) Please… if you’re reading this, pleasssse realize… you’re invited, but you must accept before you die – just bow your head, and pray, “Oh God, thank you sooo much for having invited me into your glory – thank you, Jesus, for having stood up for me (on the cross) – I don’t understand – I never will, but I believe – I can’t proove it, but I believe it – that there is only one God, that Jesus is His only son, and that He literally died for me”. (If you prayed that, and you meant it, then you are hereby ‘saved’ – you’re a Christain!) You know… I used to wonder… how could Christ’s death on the cross have been for each of us, even though we hadn’t been born yet, but I finally figured it out. I was at work one day, at the funeral home. We were about to have a funeral – there was a big crowd gathering, and you know how we like to open the door for people entering the chapel… well, there were so many people, I just propped the door open. So see… I was actually opening the door for each person, even those who weren’t yet in my sight. That’s what Jesus did on that cross – He just propped the pearly gates open for each of us – for each of us who would accept the invitation in time!
