I woke up at my usual time to meet God this morning, with a hot cup of coffee in my favorite mug and the bathrobe my mom gave me for Christmas a couple of years back. I found myself in the story of Jacob’s Ladder… I instantly found myself humming the tune of a childhood Chorus “We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder”… soldiers of the cross…hmm… I am not sure I really like the idea of singing about soldiers these days as I am aware of the war and unrest that my brothers and sisters are experiencing around the world.
A closer look reveals angels climbing Jacob’s ladder…. messengers of God! Yes! I much prefer that imagery! Now I am engaged with the imagery of these Angels ascending and descending, climbing up and down this heavenly ladder in Jacob’s dream. Even more intriguing is the idea that they are doing this in such an ordinary place. Jacob is journeying through a field and finds a rock to use as a pillow. That really doesn’t sound so inviting for sleep… but suddenly this ordinary and even uncomfortable place becomes extraordinary as God reveals to him “Heaven’s Gate”. Jacob is awakened to the idea that God is in the very place he lays his head… God is all around… it is, in Jacob’s mind, God’s house.
The nearness of God is almost frightening to Jacob, and yet, he chooses to partner with God. Now that is what I call a missional partnership… noticing God’s presence and activity and joining in! I love that Jacob then chooses to seal the deal by building an altar to mark the place and then pledging to God a tenth of everything he owns. This is how Jacob says to God, “I ‘m in”
As I sit in the quiet of my living room… I wonder how many ladders to the heavens might there be in my own neighborhood and my community… maybe even right here in my own house. I close my eyes and imagine a whole city with all kinds of ladders climbing from roof tops, schools, businesses into the city line lit up with the Presence. Yes, God is all around me and I want to enter into this climbing up into the Presence and down into the Presence here where I find myself. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder…