The Ladder Goes Both Ways

By Cory Kreikemeier,

Jacob’s ladder goes both ways, and it shows us how close God wants to be with us. In Genesis 28:12, Jacob dreamed of a ladder set on the earth that reached all the way to heaven, with the angels of God going up and down on it.

The ladder going up means we can leave this world and go into the presence of the Lord. The ladder coming down means that God can come down the ladder into our presence.

I have never really heard this message before or really dug into it that much. After hearing it on an audiobook I was listening to, it really stuck with me.

Jesus Is the Ladder

Jesus told Nathanael that he would see “heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). Jesus is the ladder. We could never climb our way up to God on our own. Christ came down to us first, and through him alone we can draw near to the Father (John 14:6, Hebrews 4:16).

Take the First Step

We have the ladder sitting out there in front of us, but we just never take the chance to walk up the ladder into the presence of the Lord when we should. We also don’t invite the Lord to come down the ladder to be here with us. We are simply living day to day and getting by, instead of building our relationship in the presence of the Lord.

Prayer is the connection. Through Christ, prayer is how we go up the ladder into God’s presence and invite Him to come down into ours.

I pray that we follow the ladder in our own lives and go out of our way to spend time with you, Lord. We need your presence now more than ever. We have the capacity to experience all that you want, but we never step out onto the ladder. Help us to take the first step we need to, Lord.

Every bit of Creation points back to its Maker. This one points to Genesis 28:12:

“And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” (Genesis 28:12)

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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