The Omni William Penn Hotel is one of Pittsburgh’s swankiest hotels. Imagine the surprise when some hotel guests checked into the Presidential Suite and found a homeless man sleeping on the couch!
When hotel security officers arrived on the scene, they woke him up, took him to their office, and called the police. Jeffrey Lennon Watson, 48, told police he was from Los Angeles and was passing through the city to return to California. He informed them that he had been in Pittsburgh for over a month and “sleeps wherever he can locate somewhere comfortable to rest his head.”
According to the Associated Press, there aren't too many places more comfortable than Watson's chosen location. The 16th-floor suite features a 1,300-square-foot parlor plus three bedrooms, and includes crystal chandeliers, a dining room, grand piano, a full kitchenette, and sitting room, according to the hotel's website. The site doesn't state how much the room costs.
So how did he get in there? Police don't know how long Watson had been in the suite or how he got in. Hotel general manager Eric DeStefano offered the following explanation:
The parlor area of the Presidential suite is "a general-use area for receptions and small events. The door had been programmed to remain unlocked for an event earlier that day. As soon as the occupant was discovered, he was escorted off the property," DeStefano said.
Police took Watson to the Allegheny County Jail, where he remained Wednesday unable to post $15,000 bond. He faces a preliminary hearing Nov. 19 on charges of criminal trespass and theft of services, according to online court records. *
God has promised that those who follow Him will live forever with Him in heaven (see 1 Peter 1:3-5). Contemplating the splendor of heaven (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:9) and the pristine holiness of God, one may feel as “out of place” as a homeless man in a ritzy hotel!
Imagine one angel saying to another concerning you or me: “How’d HE get in here?”
And the answer is: Jesus!
Although our SIN separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and can keep us out of heaven and destined for the second death (cf. Revelation 21:8), God loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we can be saved and live eternally with Him in heaven (Hebrews 10:19-20)!
Jesus will save and give eternal life to those who accept His offer on His terms: place your faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continually cleanse the sins of those who continue to walk in the light of His word (1 John 1:7).
And one day when, by the grace of God, we are in heaven and we’re asked, “How’d YOU get in here?” We can answer with loving adoration and endless praise: “Jesus!”
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6
Won’t YOU accept Jesus’ offer on His terms?
* Information gleaned from Joe Mandak of the Associated Press
- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water." To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org
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