I once heard of a man named Scott who calls himself a professional gate-crasher—and with good reason. He claimed to have attended 300 sporting events and concerts, including 25 World Series baseball games, all without paying a single penny. In fact, he wrote a book that describes 50 ways to sneak into concerts and sporting events.

Scott’s gate-crashing raises all sorts of ethical questions, but let’s talk, instead, about a higher issue. Think about what it takes to get into Heaven. Jesus said there was only one way to get in: through Him (John 14:6). The “ticket” is having a personal faith in Jesus as your Savior, believing that He paid the penalty for your sin and accepting His offer of forgiveness as a gift (John 3:16; Romans 6:23).

Jesus alone guarantees admission into Heaven—nothing more, nothing else, nothing less! There’s no way to crash the gates of glory, and it makes absolutely no sense to even try. Nobody will enter the presence of God unless he or she is escorted by Jesus Christ Himself.

People gate-crash events because of the high cost of a ticket and the thrill of sneaking in. We could never pay the price it costs to get into heaven, but the good news is that Jesus paid it for us. We don’t have to crash the gates! And, trust me, there will be no greater thrill than being there with Him and spending eternity with our loving Father.