Several years ago my wife took a nasty fall and severely broke her ankle. Thanks to the help of emergency personnel and the skill of the surgeon and physical therapist, her ankle is healed today and does not limit her in any way.
Unfortunately, for four months following the surgery, she could not put any weight on this foot and had to navigate in a wheelchair. During that time, we both gained a deep appreciation for ramps, rails, elevators, and other handicapped accessible features. Until then, neither of us had ever really considered these provisions that suddenly made life much easier.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed by the 101st Congress and signed into law in 1990 by then President George H W Bush. With some exceptions, part of it required all new construction to include accessibility features and this has improved the lives of many with physical limitations. Why did it take us so long to get there?
Thankfully, from the very beginning, God’s offer of eternal life has always been fully accessible to all. His non-discrimination clauses are found throughout the Bible such as in Revelation 22:17 which says, “…whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Jesus’ offer of salvation is available to all without regard for color, national origin, age, income, disability, education, or sex. I’m so thankful that He doesn’t require a monetary payment, physical fitness, or a certain IQ. Whosoever will may come to Him.
The Scriptures illustrate clearly that God’s door is open to all who wish to enter. However, that door is narrow and requires that we turn from any known sin and receive His Son, Jesus, as our Savior. Any desire to hold onto our sin or continue in it will not fit through His narrow door.
Many attempts have been made to hack away at God’s door and make it wider, higher, and easier to enter. Nevertheless Jesus’ words ring as true today as they did 2000 years ago when He declared, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Regardless of how sincere we may be about other religions or saviors, we will be sincerely wrong and fail to enter the straight gate that leads to everlasting life.
Attempts to enter by our good deeds will also fail as these are powerless to erase our selfishness, pride, sexual sin and other bad deeds. Efforts to accommodate God’s door to allow entry to anyone not covered with Jesus’ forgiving blood will forever fail.
Whenever we try to expand God’s gateway into heaven by allowing unrepentant sins or other belief systems, we change it from the narrow road that leads to life into the broad road that leads to destruction. In His infinite love, God already designed Heaven’s entryway to be fully accessible for every person. But all must enter through Jesus.
In Acts 4:12, Jesus’ Disciples who had encountered the risen Lord declared boldly, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” So although the door is accessible to all, it still must be navigated only by reliance on Jesus.
Nothing, however, prohibits us from bringing our loved ones to the door. In fact, Jesus instructed us to do so. The door is also portable and we can take it to them. The role of those who have already entered is to assist all others in finding that door. But we cannot widen it for them. They must enter the same way as did we: by grace through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus.
As we reflect on all the provisions for handicap accessibility commonly around us today, let us thank God that His doorway to heaven stands open to all. Let us enter ourselves if we have not and if we have, let us bring others to it.
Blessings, George