The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

A STAIRWAY FROM HEAVEN

Fleeing to Harran to escape his brother’s wrath, Jacob stopped for the night. Jacob dreamed that a stairway stretched from heaven to earth, with angels ascending and descending the heavenly staircase. The picture portrayed the grand, cosmic reality of life on this earth. While it may seem that all that is real is that which can be seen, there is an eternal, heavenly world closely connected to this one. The heavenly realm is consistently interacting with this world in ways that lie beyond what the human mind can comprehend and the human eye can see.

Jesus’ birth would bring this reality into greater focus. The fully divine and human Son of God would serve as the ladder between heaven and earth (Jn 1:51). At his baptism, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended on the Son of God, indicating his divine status and God-ordained mission (Mt 3:13 – 17). In Jesus, heaven met earth, and with him came glimpses of the coming kingdom as the lame walked, the blind regained sight and prisoners gained freedom (Lk 4:18). At the incarnation, the Son of God descended the heavenly staircase in order to usher sinful humanity into the kingdom of God.

Jesus, when I feel overwhelmed by circumstances, remind me that there is a heavenly realm I don’t see or understand. Help me to trust you, who can see everything, with my problems. Amen.