A man stood before the porter of the gate. The weight of the sack on his shoulder bent him over. His shoes were dusty and worn. He slid the sack on the ground and took out a heavy wooden stool.

“What allows thee to enter this gate, Traveler?” the porter asked.

The man pointed to the stool on the ground. “I’ve come from afar, carrying this stool that I’ve made. I trust this work will get me in. See how strong and sturdy it is.”

“This is the work of your own hands?” the porter said.

“It is,” the man replied. His hands trembled a little, but he kept looking at his fine workmanship.

“Wood can burn. Away with you,” said the porter, and he kept the gate locked.

A second man came near the gate. He had heard that small works were better, and he saw what happened to the first traveler. His knees shook as he walked toward the porter.

“What allows thee to enter this gate, Traveler?” the porter asked.

“I know I’m unworthy, Sir,” he said as he reached into his pocket, “but I have a tiny glass bead.”

“This is the work of your own hands?” the porter said.

“It is,” said the man. “See, it is quite beautiful, and ever so little.”

“Glass can melt. Away with you,” said the porter, and he kept the gate locked.

A third man neared the gate.

“What allows thee to enter this gate, Traveler?” the porter asked.

“Nothing, Sir.”

“Nothing?” the porter replied. “You have no works at all of your own that allows thee to enter this gate?”

The man hung his head down. “I have nothing, Sir. Not even a little one. My best works are—rotted.”

The porter was astonished. “But what reason is there then to open this gate to you?”

The man cleared his throat. “There is one reason, kind Sir. I own no works, nor even myself, but he who owns me has paid my way in.”

The porter checked his lists and found that the traveler’s words were indeed true. He smiled. “Then you shall come in,” he said, and he opened the gate.

“And verily if we should appear before God, relying on ourselves, or on any other creature, though ever so little, we should, alas! be consumed” (Belgic Confession, Article 23).