When Paradise is closed!

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?” 
Five Man Electrical Band

  Recently, I was in Paradise. Okay, it wasn’t really Paradise. It was Fort Lauderdale but with temperatures in the mid-sixties, compared to Wisconsin that was below zero…it sure felt like Paradise J.

  Because Chicago traffic is unpredictable, when I’m flying out of O’Hare, I always try to take an early flight so that I can beat the traffic. Jane and I flew out at 6:45 am but couldn’t get into our hotel until 4 pm (our flight arrived around 9 am). Lots of time to kill, but after all, we are in Paradise.

  After we rented our car, we decided to head to the beach. I love the ocean, particularly the Atlantic. There’s just something about hearing waves crashing, the smell of salt air and warm sand between your toes. It goes back to when I was a child and my family went to Florida every year for vacation. I truly can’t get enough of the ocean.

  Because we had so much time to kill, after grabbing a bite to eat, Jane and I headed to the beach. But we never saw it. The vast majority of the beach has hotels and condos with restricted parking for “guests” only. But these buildings block the view, so not only can you not walk on the beach because you can’t find a place to park, you can’t even see it. Unfortunately, our hotel was near the church where the Conference was being held – miles and miles away from the beach. While there were a few public beaches, every parking spot was filled. We and several other hundred people were circling the same lots like sharks looking for prey. And while there were hundreds of empty parking spaces, they were all clearly marked with large signs, “No Parking! Violators will be towed!”

  Because we had lots of time to kill, we just kept driving up the coast.  Ultimately, we drove some thirty miles along the coast and never once found a parking space. We were never were able to get out of our car and couldn’t see the ocean or hear the waves crashing. Finally, we gave up and headed to our hotel to check in. Here we were, right on the front porch of “Paradise” but couldn’t get in. Why?

  First, it was overcrowded and there just wasn’t any room. There were so many license plates from Quebec, I wondered if the entire province was in Fort Lauderdale.

  Second, “the golden rule” worked against us. Not the golden rule that most of us are familiar with. No, the pragmatic golden rule that unwaveringly holds that those “who have the gold rule.” Because Jane and I don’t own a condo or beach house, because we were staying at a “cheap” hotel miles away from the beach, we were prohibited from enjoying the ocean and beach.

  Third, we didn’t know the secret entries. Probably, there are places to park and ways to circumvent the system BUT you’d probably have to be a local to know them. As visitors, “Paradise” was a closed community to us. For all practical purposes, “Paradise” might as well have not even existed. We weren’t getting in no matter how hard we tried.

  What a contrast to Heaven! There is no place on this earth, not even Fort Lauderdale in February that can hold a candle in comparison to Heaven. The reality is that the very best in this world, the most beautiful places are inner city ghettos compared to Heaven.

  I’ve always marveled that Heaven is so wonderful that God in His Word has to tell what is not there, rather than what is there. Humanly speaking, we just couldn’t comprehend it. Yet, the entry to Heaven is very different from any “Paradise-like” places on earth.

  First, there is plenty of room. Heaven will never put up a “No Parking” or “No Vacancy” sign up. One of my favorite parables is that of the Great Banquet in Luke 14. “Then the master of the house…said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room’” (vss. 21-22). There is more space than we could ever comprehend.

  Second, entry to Heaven is not based on what you have or what you have done. There are no rich people in Heaven and there are no good people there. You can’t buy your way in or work your way in to Heaven. The entry to Heaven is based on the fact that you absolutely shouldn’t be there. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” What could be clearer than, “not a result of works”? What do you do to earn a “gift”? Nothing! You just accept it!

  Heaven is free but it’s not cheap. For anyone to go to Heaven, Jesus paid a great price. He had to die on the Cross and pay our great sin debt, “  (1 Corinthians 15:3).

  What an insult to God the Father to even consider that any of us could pay Him back for the death of His Son! Or, that we could be good enough or do enough right things to compensate Him for Jesus! Heaven…our salvation is God’s gift of love that we must accept by faith. It’s what the Bible calls the Gospel, or “good news.” Because the Gospel is true, then even someone like me can go to heaven. In myself I see much that displeases me, and much more that must displease God. The good news of the gospel is that sinners can be saved while they are still sinners simply by trusting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Because of the Gospel, you can know with certainty that should you die tonight, you’re going to heaven.

  Finally, the very best part is that it’s not a secret. Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world…” (Matthew 24:14). Jesus’ last words before He left this earth was to command His followers to tell the whole world that Heaven is free, anyone can go there, if they’ll just trust Christ as their personal Savior.

  It may be hard to get to the beach in Fort Lauderdale but it’s simple to get into Heaven. It’s a free gift and the price has already been paid, but you must personally accept it. Have you done that? Have you accepted God’s free gift of salvation?