That Certain Place
Have you had your life-changing experience yet?
Do you believe it will come?
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. - Genesis 28:11-12
Today's reading from Genesis brings us to a place that may have been so well known that the name of it is not given. It is simply that certain place.
For Jacob, the son of Isaac who cheated his brother out of his inheritance, this place is life-changing. Here, he encounters the angels of God in a dream and he becomes frightened.
We probably would be also. Even those of us who long to meet God or to have an experience that brings Him close would probably shudder and slap ourselves if it happened.
Commentators look to the symbolism in the story. The stone Jacob puts under his head is the stone of the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ladder or stairway or highway to heaven is God's desire to be a part of our lives.
For us Christians, Jesus is that ladder, and like Jacob, we are invited to be a part of God's life through him.
But do we accept the invitation? Do we let God in? Do we enter into His presence?
Where is that certain place in our lives? Is it along the road or is our encounter with God limited to the place we worship on Sundays?
I believe God is inviting us to be in communion with Him all the time, not just once a week in our stone and glass mausoleums.
For me, that certain place could be every place, every common, everyday place I visit. It is a place that needs no name since it is so well known, so frequented.
That is where we should remind ourselves of God's presence, and where we should share the love we feel from Him with others.
By becoming one of us, God became one with us, and we gained the wisdom to be and do as He is and does.
We are invited to climb and descend the ladder along with the angels. Will we accept?
If we don't, our lives will be lonely. Like Jacob, we will run from our flaws and faults, seeking a place to hide. But in the end, God will find us and bring us back home.
No matter what we do, He loves us.
More to come...