Jacob’s Ladder

Genesis 28:28:1-29:35 As a child I remember singing, “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder.” In the song was the phrase, “Every rung goes higher, higher.” Jacob experienced a divine connection between heaven and earth. In his dream he saw a ladder between heaven and earth, and he saw angels ascending and descending this ladder. The Lord stood above the ladder, and He spoke to Jacob and told him how the families of the earth would be blessed through his seed. He promised Jacob that He would keep him wherever he went, and that the time would come when He would bring him again to the land He promised Abraham, his great grandfather. When Jacob woke up, he said “Surely the Lord is in this place.”

The good news is that if we never dream a dream as Jacob did, we can still experience daily the same divine connection between heaven and earth. We may not see angels ascending and descending a ladder from heaven, but we can daily say, “Surely God is in this place.”

Where does God dwell? I remember asking my mother that question as she gave me a spot bath one Saturday evening in preparation for Sunday church the next day. “Mommy, where does Jesus live?” My mother wisely answered, “Jesus lives in heaven, and He also lives in your heart.” Later as an adult I understood completely how correct her answer was. I now know that Jesus is seated on the right hand of God the Father. He has been raised from the dead, and He is in a glorified body, one that has the ability to defy matter. This would have been too much for a girl of seven to understand, but I could understand that He is in heaven and also in my heart. As a young child I invited Jesus to come into my heart, and He did. My picture of Him in my heart was what a child would have. I pictured Jesus sitting at a desk, and there was a list He was checking. It had two columns that said “Good and Bad.” Above the columns was my name, “Linda.” He was checking the list twice to see if I had been naughty or nice that day. My view of Jesus at that time was a “Santa Clause image.” Unfortunately many adults still have this Santa Clause image of God—He blesses us when we are good and curses us when we are bad. Thank God I now understand more about God than I did as a child.

I don’t have to climb a ladder of success now to reach heaven. I don’t have to prove to God my love for Him by what I do or don’t do. He loves me just as I am. He is for me, not against me, and He is not checking up on me to see if I am misbehaving. When Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and when I received this as true and asked forgiveness for my sins, there was no separation between me and my heavenly Father. The Scriptures say, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).

Is heaven in your heart today? I trust that you will know for sure that God lives in the home of your heart.

READ: Genesis 28:28:1-29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11-12