During the "Refugee Crisis" a year ago there were numbers of people, including many church people, who were incensed at the actions of the Australian Government. They believed that the actions of the Government in turning many of these desperate people away was inhumane and un-Christian.

In the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives us a picture of heaven that many would judge, by the same standards to be inhumane and un-Christian! In answer to a question whether only a few would be saved, Jesus presents a picture of God's kingdom (i.e. heaven) where people will be locked out, and refused admission, and where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth".

That is very from the popular idea or heaven that is abroad today. While most people today rarely think of heaven, if they do it is usually as some kind of nice place that is waiting for them when it is time to go there. They rarely think of it as having any relevance to their life in the here and now, or of requiring any action now to secure their place in the future.

From time to time I am approached by young parents seeking baptism for their child. Most often their reason is to get their child "enrolled" on God's list. Rarely do they have any concept of what is involved in the baptismal promise to "keep God's holy will and commandments, and serve him faithfully throughout [their] life." The idea that effort might be required to be accepted into God's kingdom is quite foreign to them.

Yet, Jesus challenges us to "make every effort to enter through the narrow door". Getting into heaven is not easy! While it is true that Jesus has paid the price of our entry, His death has paid the price of our admission, He has 'bought our ticket’, yet we must make every effort to respond. I may have an airline ticket to England in my hand, but, unless I make the effort to get to the airport I will miss the plane!

The gate to heaven is narrow! In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7: 13, Jesus contrasts the narrow gate and road leading to heaven with the wide gate and broad road leading to destruction. Only a few find the narrow gate and make it up the narrow road, while the great majority go down the broad way, with little or no effort.

Worse still, in what Jesus says in Luke 13 :24, "many will try to enter and will not be able to!" Apart from the careless multitude who will drift to destruction, there will be those "asylum seekers" who desperately try to enter heaven but will not make it.

The reason for this is that heaven has a closing time! In v.25 Jesus refers to the "owner of the house" who shuts the door, and refuses to open it again to those who "stand outside knocking and pleading". In many places throughout the Gospels Jesus teaches that this present world system will not go on forever. There is a finite end-point when Jesus himself will return and bring this present age to an end. For the present, there is an open invitation to everyone to accept his free gift of eternal life. But that offer will not stay open forever. A time is coming when it is too late, and those who have not responded will miss out.

Some time ago a store was running a sale of very cheap prices. We decided that one particular item was just what we wanted, but I did not manage to get to the store until the last day of the sale. When I got to the door there was a sign saying they had closed early for stock taking! Another man was also there who had been pleading for some time, but they would not re-open their doors! That is the danger we face in regard to heaven.

The third point that Jesus makes is that entry to heaven does not depend on who we knew, but on who knows us. Sometimes, in my discussion with baptismal parents they will volunteer the information that, although they are not involved with the things of God, their mother is a strong believer, or their grandfather was a preacher, or uncle Fred teaches Sunday School. The implication is that, somehow, their family connections should help them with God.

But Jesus blows that idea out of the water in v. 25-27. It is not whether we know God that matters, but whether he knows us. We may have had a meal with God, or listened to Jesus' teaching. According to Matthew 7, we may even have been involved in effective Christian work but, unless God knows us in a personal way, as one of his children, we will not make it through the door!

These are serious words, and must be treated seriously. Entry into God's heaven is no automatic process. Many, including those we love and respect, will miss out. We ourselves may even miss out if we do not make every effort to enter through the narrow door.

God has paid the price. He has provided all the resources we need. But we must determine to make the effort to ensure we don’t miss out.