In a quiet village at the edge of time, stories of a divine ladder were told to every child. This ladder, stretching from earth to the heavens, symbolized humanity’s journey to reach their god. Each rung represented a step closer to perfection, to holiness, to the divine.
Every act of kindness, charity, or prayer moved a person upward. But every sin—a harsh word, a selfish thought, a moment of doubt—sent them tumbling downward. The villagers believed this constant struggle was the essence of life: climbing upward, stumbling downward, never truly knowing if they’d reach the pinnacle in their lifetime.
Among them lived a man named Jonas. For years, Jonas toiled, endlessly climbing the ladder. Some days he felt the warmth of the sun as he ascended, other days, he fell so low he despaired of ever seeing the light again. His hands were calloused, his spirit weary, yet he kept climbing because he believed this was the only way to be worthy of his god.
One night, as Jonas sat at the base of the ladder, too tired to climb again, a voice called out.
“Jonas, why do you climb?”
Startled, he looked up to see a figure descending the ladder. This wasn’t just any divine messenger. This was the One whom Jonas had spent his life seeking.
“I climb to reach You,” Jonas whispered, tears streaming down his face. “But I am weak, and I fall so often. I’m afraid I’ll never make it to You.”
The figure knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Jonas, you don’t have to climb to find Me. I have come down to be with you.”
Jonas stared in disbelief. “But… I thought I had to earn my way to You. That’s what we’ve always been taught.”
The figure smiled gently. “If you could earn it, then it wouldn’t be love. I came down so you could know Me, not through your strength but through My grace. All I ask is your faith, your love, and your acceptance.”
In that moment, Jonas realized the profound truth. His whole life, he had believed in a god who demanded endless effort, a constant climb. But this God, the true God, had chosen to descend the ladder, to meet him where he was.
This was a love unlike any other—a love that did not demand perfection, but instead offered it freely. A love that met humanity in their brokenness and lifted them up, not through their works, but through His.
As Jonas embraced this truth, he no longer saw the ladder as a burden. Instead, it became a symbol of freedom—not something he had to climb, but a reminder that his God had descended it out of love.
And from that day on, Jonas lived not in fear of falling, but in joy, knowing that he was already held in the arms of grace.
The God Who Came Down
In a world of ladders, where every rung is a test of worthiness, how extraordinary is the God who descends to meet us? A God who says, “Stop striving. I am here. I have done it all. All I ask is that you love Me.”
This is the essence of the Christian God: a God who doesn’t wait at the top, but who steps down, walks among us, and says, “Come as you are.” What a gift. What a God.
Think about that for a minute…
Comments