"Then he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it."
In Jacob's dream, notice where the ladder is "set up." It is not set up in heaven, but on the earth. This is intriguing, because sometimes we mistakenly separate heaven and earth, and imagine that they are radically "separate" from one another. The actual truth is that they are *united* in the "Ladder," the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is this an encouragement for us who are alive "down here" today? Because it reminds us that our lives here are as full and rich as the lives of the saints above (in the triumphant church). They have Jesus; we have Jesus. Heaven is where Jesus is. The closer we are to Him in this world, the closer we are to heaven (in its essence).
[Puritan quote of the day: "Let me not deny myself comfort and God glory both at once." --Richard Sibbes, in "Glorious Freedom"]
