Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth, was interviewed on CNN in December of 2001. She was asked about those who died on September 11th. If they were not saved by accepting Christ, the reporters wanted to know, would they go to heaven? She replied:

In my little book, Heaven: My Father's House I tell about people who want to visit my father's home in western North Carolina. They drive up the long drive and come to the gate. They knock on the gate and say: "Billy Graham, let us in. We've read your books; we've watched you on TV; we've written to you; and we want to come to your house."

And my father says: "Depart from me, I don't know you. You're not a member of my family, and you've not made any arrangements to come."

But when I drive up that same driveway and knock on the gate, I say, "Daddy, this is Anne, and I've come home." The gate is thrown right open, and I go inside, because I'm the father's child.

Jesus said that heaven is his Father's house, speaking of God. Because heaven is God's house, he has the right to decide who comes in and who stays out. He says he will welcome anyone inside his home, anyone can come, but they have to be born again into his family through faith in Jesus Christ.

That gives us a wonderful hope, that when the time comes—whether death comes as a thief in the night as it did for those in the [World Trade Center] towers, or comes as an angel of mercy after a long illness—we can be assured that at the end of the journey, we'll step right into our Father's arms. We'll be welcomed there, because we're our Father's child.