Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Recently two young men, one 17 and the other 22, died of drug overdoses in our neighborhood, within the space of one week. They came from difficult family situations with little hope. They were trying, I think, to find something to get them out of their troubles in this life. They were hoping that the right mix of music and medicine could save them.
In a classic rock anthem of the same name, Led Zeppelin sings about a “Stairway to Heaven.” My young friends did not find the stairway through drugs. We can’t build ladders long enough or develop chemicals powerful enough to take us out of our troubles. According to the Bible there is only one ladder to eternity, only one stairway to heaven.
Jesus descends to earth. Jesus ascends to heaven. He takes Jacob’s dream and makes it a reality. Jesus opens the door to Bethel (the house of God). He unlocks the “gate of
heaven.”
Two young men from our neighborhood didn’t hear that soon enough. I wonder if there is someone you could tell before it is too late?
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