Cole doesn't like open doors. Whenever he finds one at the house he rushes to close it, regardless of which side of it he's on. That led to a little trouble for him (and me) the other day.

I was in my office at the church doing a little sermon preparation and Cole was with me. When I walked across the hallway to make a copy of something, Cole closed my office door. And locked it.

He tried to open the door, but couldn't. Naturally, he panicked. I came running at the sounds of his screams. I never lock my office door. In all the time I've been at the church, I just assumed the key that fit all the other doors fit my office, too. It didn't. I checked my secretary's desk, thinking she might have a key that fit the lock. No dice. I considered kicking the door in, but I was afraid the door would hit him and hurt him.

I tried talking to Cole through the door, attempting to calm him down and tell him how to unlock the lock. He was beyond help. I split my time between talking to him and running into the other offices to find something with which to open the door.

I finally found a hatchet/hammer tool in a closet. I took it back to my office door and wedged it between the door and the jamb. This created enough room for me to stick a pair of scissors into the open space and pop the bolt.

The door came open. Cole rushed into my arms and I pulled him close to me. For the next few minutes I sat in that hallway and held my little boy.

What a picture of salvation.

When Adam sinned, it was like slamming a door between us and our heavenly father.

This barrier of sin prevented us from reaching him and him from reaching us. For all of history, mankind has stood on the wrong side of that sin barrier, crying out to God for help.

What was God's response? Pretty much the same as mine. Although he didn't use a hatchet and scissors - he used something far more precious to remove the sin that separated us from him, his own son.

Jesus Christ came and died for our sins, taking those sins upon himself, so that we could be forgiven (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Now that the sin barrier is removed, we are able to rush into the arms of our heavenly father by accepting Christ as our savior. And when we do, he will receive us and hold us close.

If you haven't done this yet, what are you waiting for?

Parrish Myers is pastor of Pine Crest Baptist Church in Gainesville. His column runs every other week in Sunday Life.