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“Jesus opens the door to heaven for believers,” says Zachary, 8. “Hell is not a place you want to go.”

The President will probably never call Zachary to serve as a diplomat to the United Nations. His bluntness would offend too many people.

I’m reminded of the door in the back of the closet in “Chronicles of Narnia” that took Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter into the world of Narnia. Remember how Lucy first stumbled into Narnia when she hid in the closet during a game of hide and seek. She struggled to convince her sister and brothers that Narnia existed.

Christians often feel like Lucy. They have believed in Jesus as their savior and tasted the world to come by his indwelling Holy Spirit, but they struggle to convince others of the world they have seen through their eyes of faith.

“Jesus will open the door to come into your heart, and he will forgive your sins,” says Brooke, 9. “He will throw your sins far away into the deep oceans.”

Speaking of God’s forgiveness to Israel, the prophet Micah wrote, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea,” (Micah 7:19). When God buries our sins in the deepest part of the ocean, they’re never going to float to the surface. That’s exactly what God did when he judged Jesus on the cross for all of our sins.

As Zachary said at the beginning of this column, “Hell is not a place you want to go.” I know it’s not politically correct to talk about Hell, but Jesus spoke more about Hell than Heaven. In a world where everyone gets a trophy, all doors lead to Heaven as long as you’re sincere.

In the real world, people choose to go to Hell every day because they refuse God’s free gift of forgiveness in Jesus Christ and his gracious offer of eternal life. Instead of trusting in Jesus alone as the only door to heaven, they knock on other doors that promise life but only lead to temporal destruction and eternal damnation (John 3:18).

If you’re drowning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, am I to blame for your death if you refuse to grab the life preserver I throw to you?

Jesus Christ is God’s life preserver and life giver. All promises of life apart from Jesus are counterfeit.

“Jesus is like a door because he wants you to come in and come out anytime and be with him,” says Ava, 9.

Discontented people usually think that the “grass is always greener on the other side.” We know there’s something better just beyond our reach. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus knows exactly where the grass is greenest. He wants to lead us there.

Jesus wants to save you from both sin’s penalty and sin’s power. Because you have experienced deliverance from sin’s penalty at the moment you placed your faith in Jesus as your savior doesn’t automatically translate into living free from sin’s power.

Think about this: Jesus is both the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for everyone and the shepherd who leads his people to greener pastures where they can flourish under his loving protection and provision.

Memorize this truth: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture,” (John 10:9)

Ask these questions: Is Jesus your door to eternal life? If so, is he your door to the abundant, meaningful life that you deeply desire?

(Kids Talk About God is designed for families to study the Bible together. Research shows that parents who study the Bible with their children give their character, faith and spiritual life a powerful boost.)