Special Places
What of the places we go to are close to God and we don't know it?
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ - Genesis 28:10-17
Jacob had no idea that the place where he laid his head was special, until he had a dream.
This was not a righteous man you would expect God to come to. Jacob had tricked his brother out of his birthright, so this was not an upstanding guy.
So what makes him so special?
In God's eyes, we are all special. God comes to those who need him, and sometimes He gives them something they didn't expect at all.
So, what about us? What will it take for us to see the place we are in is holy?
Jacob found God in his life and realized how special that was. He saw that place as where God was, but God is everywhere. He is with us wherever we are, making every place God's place.
I think the lesson for us in today's reading is that God is always with us, and it is up to us to become aware of His presence. Jacob was lucky to have had a dream where he realized God was there for him. Just because we have not yet had our dream of God in our lives doesn't mean He is not with us.
Jesus came to show us God's love for us, so maybe we should treat every space we occupy as special in our eyes, just as God treats every space we are in as special in His.
More to come...