The Door That Never Locks

In 2018, a homeless man named James walked into St. Gregory's Church in San Francisco during a Wednesday evening service. He smelled of the street. His jacket was torn. He slid into the last pew and sat with his head down, unsure whether someone would ask him to leave.

Nobody did. Instead, the pastor noticed him after the service, sat beside him, and said five words that changed everything: "You're welcome here every time."

James later told a reporter he had been turned away from three shelters that week. Capacity full. Wrong paperwork. Too late in the evening. Every door had a condition he couldn't meet. But this door stayed open.

That is the staggering promise Jesus makes in John 6:37 — "whoever comes to me I will never drive away." Not sometimes. Not under certain conditions. Never. The Greek word is striking: ou me, the strongest possible negation. There is no version of you showing up at Christ's door and finding it locked.