I have been intrigued with the visit of Pope Francis to America. I agreed with much that he said as he spoke to our Congress. I am not a Catholic, but find some agreement with the Catholic Church (you can read my blog about ‘Why I am not a Catholic’). It has been very interesting to hear about the various meetings he has had with powerful and humble people of our country.

So this morning I began to wonder what I would say if I were invited to have an audience with Pope Francis. First, I would be honored. He is a powerful, yet soft-spoken man. But if I had a chance to talk with him for 5-10 minutes, this is what I would ask him…

1. What is your most memorable experience?

Pope Francis has traveled the world and met many famous people. I’d just like to know what his favorite moment was. I wonder if he’d pick something obvious, like when he was chosen pope or meeting an important person? Or maybe something insignificant, like playing sports as a child with his friends or listening to his favorite music? Or maybe when he held a disfigured child or prayed with a poor elderly woman? I’d just like to know what is at the top of his list.

2. What are you struggling with?

I cannot imagine the stress of the Pope’s life. The Catholic church has been under scrutiny as of late. Changes in society and within the church have got to weigh on his heart. I know what it’s like to lead a congregation of 250. But he’s the leader of over 1 billion. I’m sure not everybody is happy. Everybody comes to him with their problems. Maybe I can be just one ear who will listen to his problems. I can’t solve them, but I know who can – Jesus. And I will honestly pray for him.

3. What do you think of Jesus?

This is the question we all must consider. Jesus asked His own disciples, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ (Matthew 16:15). Peter (considered by Catholics as the first Pope) answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God.’ (Matthew 16:16). I wouldn’t want the Pope to give me a canned response. But from his heart what does Jesus mean to him. Is Jesus the only Son of God? Is Jesus the only hope of the world? Is Jesus the way, the truth and the life? Is Jesus the only way to Heaven? Is Jesus his Best Friend? His Savior?

3. When you stand before God and He asks why He should let you into Heaven, what are you going to say?

I’ve asked this question to hundreds of people, especially religious people. And the Pope is one of the most religious people in the world. Since we will all stand before God one day, we’d better know what our answer to that question will be.

If the Pope gets into Heaven, I don’t think it will be because he was the Pope. Being Pope isn’t a free pass to Heaven. That’s not fair to the rest of us non-pope people. And I don’t think it’s because he goes to church, or been baptized, or helped a lot of people or a member of his church or anybody else’s church. All those things are good, but not good enough.

Heaven is a perfect place. And everyone, including the Pope, has done wrong. In spite of all the good we do, our good works cannot erase our bad works. They stick on us like super glue. And to get to Heaven we need to find some way to get rid of our wrongs.

That leads me to my answer to this fourth question. Why should God let anyone into Heaven? Because they have accepted the payment that Jesus on the cross to forgive them of their sin. When a person repents of sin, trusts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, they are forgiven of all sin and brought into the family of God.

I hope the Pope has trusted Jesus Christ as personal Savior. I doubt I will get a chance to ask him. And you might think that disrespectful to even question him about it. But I think it’s a good question to ask anyone.

So, I’ll ask you… Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Are you 100% sure that when you stand before God, He’s going to let you into His Heaven? I hope so.

You can learn more about trusting Christ in my other articles: The Gospel in your Hand, The Day my Dad got Saved.