As more foreigners visit Japan, Japanese hosts have to negotiate the cultural differences around views of what’s clean and what’s not. As we welcomed guests from many different countries in our home in Japan, it was clear that they struggled with the Japanese rules. Some people explained to me that their shoes weren’t that dirty. Others were convinced that they could wipe off the dirt. And some people just didn’t like to put on other people’s slippers. It was humbling to be told that your shoes were too dirty to just walk in. Despite the differences, everyone seemed to concede that a guest must defer to the host. As I have reflected on the dilemma faced by many Japanese hosts with their foreign guests, I’m reminded of a similar problem confronting God as the host of heaven. In fact, a story that Jesus told sounds very similar to the problem of slippers and outside shoes in Japan. And it helps me understand what keeps many people out of heaven.