Jacob's Ladder
Photo by Armand Khoury on Unsplash
We Do Not Climb Up To Meet God
by Eric Elkin
“I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples.”
Pastor Bob opened every worship service at Koinonia by pointing to several simple images. As a pastor and the executive director of the Christian camp, he used the images to define the camp's mission. One of those images was Jacob's Ladder. He even had a blacksmith design a pulpit made to replicate the ladder with candle holders placed on the left and right sides of each rung.
When worship began, a person would light the candles as Pastor Bob spoke. The candle lighter lit the top candles first, then worked their way down to the bottom. Pastor Bob talked about Jacob's dream in Genesis as the candles were lit and the song born out of that encounter, "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder."
The point Pastor Bob made was that Jacob never climbed the ladder. The ladder was not even meant for human use. Instead, it was used for heavenly messengers to descend to earth and ascend back into heaven. We don't go up to meet God; God comes down to meet us.
“Wide awake to the presence of God, I realized I had been so focused on asking why a good God allowed bad things to happen that I was missing out on the nearness of God all along. In becoming preoccupied with the why, I was missing the who.”
This image was in my mind this morning while reading one of my favorite passages from the book of Revelation. People often associate the rapture with the book of Revelation. The rapture is when the good, chosen Christians will be snatched up into heaven, leaving behind the rejected. Except, there is no rapture in Revelation.
Revelation presents an entirely different image altogether. An image similar to the one Pastor Bob shared about Jacob's ladder. We are not taken up, but God comes down to dwell with all humankind. Heavenly blessings are not reserved for the chosen. Instead, the presence of God is poured out on the wounded.
Books have been written about the end times. The end is filled with death, destruction, weeping, and teeth gnashing. Yet the actual image of Revelation is much more calm and intimate. God will wipe away tears, and death, mourning, and pain will cease to exist. That is a radically different image than the rapture.
My point today is simple. Perhaps you find yourself wondering where God is in the midst of the world's suffering. Maybe you even catch yourself looking up into heaven to see God in some distant place. God is present in it all because the home of God is among mortals. You will have a better chance of seeing God among those providing comfort and care.
Click to read Revelation 21: 1-6
Reflection Questions:
What images do you use to remind yourself of God?
When have you encountered a person obsessed with the rapture?
How is the rapture actually inconsistent with God?
How does the intimacy of God in the human condition make you feel?
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