A family is in turmoil. The mom and dad are fighting about the children. The younger brother has lied to and stolen from his older brother. Now, the older brother is so mad with rage that he’s plotting to kill his younger brother.
And this same older brother is also angry at his dad. And so he finds out what irritates the old man, what gets under his skin. Then, he sets out to do those acts, just to spite him. And the younger brother–the thief and liar–is so scared for his life that he runs away from home.
I know this messed-up family. And so do you. Their names are Isaac and Rebecca, Esau and Jacob. They live in the broken homes of their own making, full of broken hearts and broken promises. And so we are reminded ever anew that anger, spite, guilt, and meanness are nothing new in this fallen world.
Here is Jacob, the younger brother, the man on the run. He’s asleep, using a rock for a pillow. He’s alone, stuck between a past full of deceit and a future filled with fear. And there, in the midnight of his sleep, he dreams a dream, undreamt by any mortal before him. He sees a ladder stretching to the stars, the stairway of the angels. And Joseph sees those angels going up to heaven and then down to earth. From Jacob to God the angels climb. From God to Jacob they descend–a living bridge from creature to Creator and Creator to creature.
And then the Lord speaks. He is the God of your grandfather, Abraham, the God of your dad, Isaac. And he is your God, too, Jacob. He’s a God with a past full of promises and a future full of their fulfillment.
Yet, this God doesn’t scold this sleeper for his deceit. He doesn’t give him a tongue-lashing for his theft. Instead, He promises Jacob the land on which he sleeps–descendants beyond his ability to count, like the dust of the earth that dirties his bed. And, even more, the God at the top of the ladder says: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you.”
Wow, that sounds sweet, doesn’t it? All these grand promises that God makes! And maybe you’re thinking: “Where’s God when I need a dream like that? Where’s God when my real life feels more like a nightmare–one that goes on and on, without relent? Oh yeah, Jacob, he had it bad, but I tell you what–that runaway and I could compare scars!”
“Let me tell you about my dysfunctional family. Let me tell you what it feels like to crave love from those closest to you and not get it. Let me tell you what’s it like to lie in bed at night and pray you don’t wake up in the morning, all so the pain will be no more. Let me tell you, not about my dreams, but about my fear to dream, my fear to hope. Let me tell you that all Advent means to me is that the holiday that’s supposed to be full of goodwill and cheer is, instead, one of emptiness and unfulfilled love. Let me show you my scars.” Maybe that’s what you’re thinking.
If you are, let me tell you something. Oh, you may not believe it. You may even scoff at the claim. But here’s the truth: God hears your cry of pain on the other side of your silence. He counts every tear you let escape, or refuse to let go, from the ocean of anguish inside you.
For that is your God, as much as, and the same as, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and that deceiving, stealing, and runaway Jacob. And when He is your God, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future–not even the powers of hell can separate you from God’s love. No power in the sky above or on the earth below–indeed nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord! (Romans 8:38-39) Nothing and no one can do that.
And here’s the truth about God. He keeps His promises–for richer for poorer, in sickness and health, for better for worse. That’s true even when you’ve made more stupid mistakes than even you can remember. That’s true even when you’ve hurt everyone, in some way, who’s tried to love you. That’s true even when you can barely stand to look at your face in the mirror, for all you see is your failure and shame before you, mocking and deriding you. When it feels as if you’ve wallowed in the mud of hell itself, you have a God who loves you.
You have a God who cares. You have a God who will stand up publicly beside any man, any woman–you! He will embrace you, forgive you, and say to the world: “This is my child. I love him. I love her. And I defy you to say otherwise.” That is your God. He is a God who cannot and will not stop loving you, keeping you, and dying to make you right.
Those are grand promises that God makes. But they are as real as your pain, doubt, and fear. Yet, they are better and stronger, for they are God’s grand promises, and He stands behind them.
Do you want a dream like Jacob? Do you want a ladder and glorious angels and God up top all strong and talking to you? If so, then you want too little. You need more than that. You need more than a dream. You need something solid. And you got it.
You don’t need just angels. You need a God who tells the angels to step aside, so He can climb down the ladder Himself. You need a God who doesn’t just make promises, but keeps them, One who becomes the Promise and the Fulfillment. You need a God who does more than come down that ladder from heaven. You need a God who brings heaven with Him, who pulls heaven downward and lifts earth heavenward, and fuses the two together in His own body. He is the God of heaven, yet the Man of this earth, in one person: Jesus, the Son of Mary and the Son of the Father.
You see greater events than Jacob saw. You see the angels of God rising and descending on the Son of Man. You see people with broken lives, from broken families, with broken and bleeding hearts welcomed into God’s kingdom. In His kingdom, they find the peace that they dared not even dream existed on this side of the grave. You see people whom society has rejected, whom friends have shunned, called friends of God, heirs of the kingdom, sons and daughters of the King. Do you see yourself there? There you are. That’s you–all because of Christ Jesus!
Show your scars to Him. And He will show you His. He endured His to heal you of your own. He will take your scarred heart in His scarred hands and love you, and love you, and love you still some more. He will do so until all that matters is not the scar on your heart, but the scar embedded in His hand.
All that will matter is not how hellish life can sometimes be, but how this God grasps heaven itself. For this God came to earth, to be that ladder by which we rise to the Father. He will wipe your tears away and cleanse you of your shame. He will embrace you as a member of His family and tell you: “I am with you. I am Emmanuel. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and your God, now and into ages of ages, and even forevermore.” Amen.
