The Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”

We all want to know how to get to Heaven. That is the age old question throughout history. Just as the Rich Young Ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In a sense he was asking, “How do I get to Heaven?” This is a question we all ask, “What is it that I have to do to get to Heaven?” We are all searching for the road map to the Celestial City.

Here’s the catch…you can’t get to Heaven. That’s right, there is nothing you can do to get to Heaven, you must be taken there. And being taken there means that it is ONLY by Jesus escorting you to His Kingdom. This is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” Jesus was making a declaration that it is only by Him escorting us that we can get to Heaven. Heaven is a spiritual place not a physical place, therefore we can’t get there through physical means only spiritual. There is nothing we can do to earn it, make it there, or navigate there through our merit. We don’t go to Heaven, we are taken there.

We can only be escorted by Jesus if we are part of of His Kingdom.

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

We are saved (taken to Heaven) when we make the decision to accept Christ’ invitation of grace. This is when we are born again and made new in Christ. We then, become part of His Kingdom under His authority and reign. We are adopted into His family and receive the amazing gift of salvation through Jesus. And to receive a gift means that we had nothing to do with purchasing it. The gift that Christ gives us only comes through His purchasing by His blood on the cross.

So if you are reading this understand that because of God’s amazing grace we can be taken to Heaven when we follow what Romans 10 said. So pack your bags and get ready so that when this life ends you can rest assure that you will be escorted to a new paradise forever.