Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place? Psalm 24:3

It’s an interesting question, particularly if you don’t know the answer already. It’s actually a question many seek to answer apart from God. The age-old question is this: how do you get to heaven? The answers to that question are as varied as the people who ask them.

If, though, you had 30 seconds to answer this question, what would you say to the unbeliever that (1) he would understand, (2) is not full of Christian-ese (things we talk about within the walls of the church but would be misunderstood outside), and (3) something that provokes thought?

About 20 years ago I was standing in a long line outside of a church to see Michael Card in concert. The line was literally wrapped around the building. A gentleman passing by stopped and asked, “what’s going on in there?” My answer was short and pathetic: “there’s a Christian concert in there.” Almost immediately after he nodded, I thought of a dozen much much better things I could have said:

We’re going to worship the God of the Universe in song
We’re going to ponder the beauty and glory of God Almighty
We’re going to praise the God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob

So, again, how would you answer the “how do you get to heaven” question?