Two well-meaning ladies from another local congregation came to my office to, among other things, announce as to how sad it was going to be when they got to heaven and discovered what they already knew: I wasn’t there.

If only I would agree with them, they could still arrange an admission ticket for me.

Even with their lovely language and benevolent smiles, I knew this was a form of murder and I wondered if they didn’t get some kind of sinister pleasure from it.

In any case, I said to them that it wouldn’t be heaven if I wasn’t there.

That threw them.

They didn’t know if I was being facetious or just my old arrogant self. But I am utterly convinced that what I said is true. It won’t be heaven if I’m not there or you’re not there or anyone else isn’t there.

Because my image of God is shaped by Jesus, and Jesus tells me that God is a loving parent who desires a rich and wondrous life for all God’s children, I am able to make such a bold claim.

What kind of a parent could ever rejoice if even one of her children was left out of the party?

That’s not heaven. That’s hell.

The time has surely come for Christians to start acting like the little Christs that we are called to be.

The time has surely come for all of us to abandon these evil and ungodly thoughts that have us enjoying the party while our sisters and brothers on the outside are dying to get in.

Instead of being so intent on locking the door with our doctrine, why not just knock it down?

What are we afraid of?

That there’s not enough God to go around?