Pray First.

Read Genesis 28:10-22.

When I was a kid I had this recurring dream. When I talk about it, it makes absolutely no sense. In my dream, I was asleep on the bed when I heard loud steps pounding down the hall like a giant gorilla. All of a sudden, I was under the bed fearfully hiding from King Kong. It’s funny how in the middle of a dream it seems so real. Thank goodness, when I awoke, King Kong was not in my house, and I wasn’t under the bed.  

Jacob, too, had a dream; one that was way better than my King Kong dream. He was on a journey to his parent’s homeland in order to escape his brother’s anger. Jacob had cheated Esau out of his birthright and his inheritance (Gen 27:35-36, 41). One evening, alone in the wilderness, he settled into his dusty bed with a stone pillow underneath his head. As he began to dream, he saw an angel-filled ladder extending from Heaven to Earth. God stood at the top of the ladder as He established His Abrahamic covenant with Jacob: a nation of people and a promised land. Jacob awoke realizing he had encountered the God of Heaven from his wilderness campsite on Earth. He said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it,” (Gen 28:16 ESV). 

Jacob experienced Heaven on Earth in his dream. Many of us have had wonderful experiences or seen beautiful sites resulting in comments like, “This is Heaven on Earth.” A layered delight of chocolate, cool whip, cream cheese, and graham cracker crust—yum, Heaven on Earth. Sitting on the beach, waves gently crashing, the sun setting in a kaleidoscope of colors—ahh, Heaven on Earth.

I was standing in church one Sunday singing with the choir (and by choir, I mean the whole congregation). God was near and my heart was drawn heavenward. I lifted my hands to worship and give Him praise. I looked over to see my sweet husband lifting his hands to worship in the very presence of God. As I scanned around the church, I saw each of my three children worshiping our great God singing with hands held high. Is this a glimpse of what Heaven will be like? It was Heaven on Earth to me.

Joyful bliss of Heaven on Earth encounters has not always been the way things were in our family. Allow me to share a little of our testimony to illustrate how we came to that one Sunday in church with all of us worshiping in the presence of God together. 

Both my husband and I became Christians at young ages. When we met we were both active in church and had begun our careers: an Army pilot and a physical therapist. We fell in love, married, and got wrapped up in careers, building a family, budgets, and life experiences. We tried to do what we thought was right. We joined Bible study groups and served in church. But we gradually kept God more at church and less at home. We did a lot of the right things…but it wasn’t Heaven on Earth.

In our home, we struggled with his way-her way of raising children. We struggled with his way-her way of managing finances. We had discussions that sometimes got way too heated. Let me just call it what it was, we fought. We were two hard-headed people with our own ways and own opinions.  

Finally, the Army moved Thomas before the rest of the family, and we had some time apart. Similar to Jacob, he found himself alone in the wilderness. And that’s where God showed up and changed our family. Thomas found a closer walk with God than he had ever known. He found a church that taught us about the grace of God. He was challenged to truly worship God and know the God of grace and mercy. The father in our family learned to love like Christ loved, and he began to lead us to walk in God’s grace. He showed us a joy in the Lord that was contagious, and we all wanted it. 

It was in this place of nearness to God that we truly began to have glimpses of Heaven on Earth, like the encounter we had in church that Sunday. Indeed a delicious chocolatey dessert and a beautiful sunset remind us of good things, including God’s creation. But it’s a relationship with God that brings Heaven to us through Jesus. 

Jesus was in Heaven with God from the beginning. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God loved us so much that He sent His only son from Heaven to Earth to save us. By his death on the cross and his resurrection, he defeated the death penalty that we deserve. He paid our debt. 

We can never be good enough or do enough to earn forgiveness for our sins or a relationship with God. It’s only through belief and faith in Jesus Christ that we receive salvation. When we put our trust in Jesus, he lives in our hearts forever. In Jesus, we have Heaven on Earth.  

I’ve never fallen asleep and had a dream about Heaven like Jacob did. Heaven came to Earth to deliver a promise to him. I imagine that after that dream, Jacob wondered often about Heaven and that promise. 

Heaven and Earth collided again when Jesus was born in a manger. He brought the Kingdom of God to Earth and the promise of eternity in Heaven to all who will believe. 

What moments or events have caused you to wonder about God? Consider what He may be trying to tell you or teach you. Maybe He’s offering you a promise; a promise to redeem you from something in your past, or in your present, so that you can experience eternity in Heaven, and a little bit of Heaven on Earth. 

 

Worship Song: Heaven and Earth by Hillsong Worship

Find Tracy on Facebook at Tracy Fields Todd, Writer, and on Instagram at @tracyftodd.