Genesis 28
This is the account of Jacob's dream about a stairway to heaven. I always have a million questions when I read this passage:
Why a stairway?
Can't angels just fly up to heaven and back to earth?
Was there really something significant about this location, as Jacob assumed, or is it just the spot he happened to be in when God decided to get his attention?
Today the thing that captured my attention was Jacob's statement, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God....
How often do I offer conditional worship to God? "Lord, if you will only do this...."
It reveals a very self-centered approach to life as well as a utilitarian view of God — as if He is only to be worshipped for what He can do for me. What if, instead of starting with all that I want to ask God to do for me, I started by just contemplating all that He has done already to reveal His magnificent glory? What if next I thanked Him for all that He has already done specifically for me — from creating a world that is perfectly tuned to support life, to weaving my unique DNA in my mother's womb to provide a life unlike any other, to proving His love for me on the cross?
What if instead of asking Him to do what I want Him to do, I offered open hands to Him, trusting Him to do what is best for me eternally — even when that is beyond my understanding?
This is the account of Jacob's dream about a stairway to heaven. I always have a million questions when I read this passage:
Why a stairway?
Can't angels just fly up to heaven and back to earth?
Was there really something significant about this location, as Jacob assumed, or is it just the spot he happened to be in when God decided to get his attention?
Today the thing that captured my attention was Jacob's statement, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God....
How often do I offer conditional worship to God? "Lord, if you will only do this...."
It reveals a very self-centered approach to life as well as a utilitarian view of God — as if He is only to be worshipped for what He can do for me. What if, instead of starting with all that I want to ask God to do for me, I started by just contemplating all that He has done already to reveal His magnificent glory? What if next I thanked Him for all that He has already done specifically for me — from creating a world that is perfectly tuned to support life, to weaving my unique DNA in my mother's womb to provide a life unlike any other, to proving His love for me on the cross?
What if instead of asking Him to do what I want Him to do, I offered open hands to Him, trusting Him to do what is best for me eternally — even when that is beyond my understanding?
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