A passport to heaven
So, we now know that Brexit will be visible to millions of Britons in that their passports will change from a burgundy colour to a blue one. I know that this ages me, but when this pronouncement about passports was made a couple of weeks ago, I immediately thought of the lyrics from a George Harrison song…
You don't need no passport And you don't need no visas You don't need to designate or to emigrate Before you can see Jesus If you open up your heart You'll see he's right there Always was and will be…
George was clearly spiritually aware by the time he had penned these lines in 1970. Although I cannot embrace his religious philosophies, I can welcome the lyrics quoted above. Indeed, we don’t need a passport or a visa to enter the Kingdom of God. There are no restrictions based on nationality, ethnicity, criminal history, nor financial or social status. This does not mean, however, that the actual passage into God’s Kingdom (God’s Heaven) is a free-for-all affair.
People are used to thinking of the fanciful image of St Peter standing guard at the pearly gates vetting who will enter and who will be turned away. Christians prefer to stick to biblical teaching about such things. Here we do find a divide at the point of entry, but not one that is based on brownie points accrued on the ‘goodness’ scale. Instead, Christians are trusting in Jesus Christ to personally vouch for them before God both now and into eternity. Jesus himself is their passport into his Father’s kingdom. The Gospel writer, John, assures us that Jesus and his Father are one in this matter. ‘who ever acknowledges me before other people,’ says Jesus, ‘ I will acknowledge them before my Father in heaven.’
Men and women have been known to pay a high price to secure a British passport. Jesus paid with his life to become the passport which brings his people to God.
If you want to know more, why not resolve, at the start of 2018, to seek out a church which runs sessions such as Christianity Explored; the Alpha course or the Uncover course.