Not Climbing Ladders
- Jennifer McMurray
- Dec 22, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 23, 2025
I do not like heights. I do not like ladders. This feels like a Dr. Seuss book: “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am.”
In this week’s sermon, Wes preached The Love of God Was Made Manifest Among Us. He shared his own ladder story, falling from great heights when he was in high school while employed at Lowe’s Home Improvement. He has the scars to prove it.
There is a ladder story in the Bible, one that goes back to Genesis 28. After wronging his twin brother Esau, Jacob is found with his head propped up on a rock, asleep. In a dream about a ladder, God reveals Himself to him. It is not what you might think. God is not communicating that he needs to do better or climb his way up, rung by rung. No, the vision he sees is of angels ascending and descending. Essentially, the theme from God is this: “I’m coming to you. You would never initiate this on your own, and you can’t work your way up here.”
Every other religion says you have to earn it, prove it, climb the ladder to know God. You may even meet religious people claiming to be Christians who want you to work your way up the ladder. But it is impossible.
God’s message throughout Scripture is this: I am going to climb all the way down to get you. John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” As The Message describes the coming of Jesus, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” He came!
Near the end of the first chapter of John, Jesus, now an adult, calls Nathanael. I somehow never caught the Jacob’s ladder connection before. Remember, Jesus found Philip and said, “Follow me.” Then Philip, in his excitement, went and found Nathanael and told him that they had found the One, the Messiah. It was Jesus from Nazareth. Next comes the moment when Nathanael blurts out his honest reaction: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Thoughtfully, Philip replies, “Come and see.”
Nathanael does meet Jesus, and he is blown away by the encounter. Jesus met him and already knew him. He even knew Nathanael had been sitting under the fig tree. Have you ever experienced that kind of knowing, feeling truly seen, truly known, and truly loved? Deep down, isn’t that what we all long for? But Jesus says even more to him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). Glory upon glory. Grace upon grace.
Love came down at Christmas.
God sent His Son so that we might know His love. This is Christmas. But how would I know, how would you know, if He really loves you?
Some people look within themselves at their feelings.
Some look at their circumstances.
Some look at their performance.
We all like to measure and determine it on our own. But none of these are the right place to go. How does the apostle Paul pray? He prays that people would have the power and strength simply to comprehend how much Jesus loves them.
How do you know God loves you? God sent His only Son into the world. Measure God’s love by looking at Him, not your circumstances or your feelings, and not by trying to do everything right.
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully…” (Ephesians 3:18–19 NLT).
He came down the ladder for you.
Songs I love that reflect this theme:
"Nothing Left to Do” by Mission House
"The Blood” by Bethel Music
“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by JJ Heller
“God So Loved” by We The Kingdom
I love this!! I had previously listened to Wes’ sermon and so I was reading your blog, knowing the background from which you wrote! You’re a great little note-taker, and reading your thoughts and take-always about his sermon helped me to re-process it again, as what you wrote reminded me of what he had said! It actually made me want to go back and listen again!! Iron sharpens iron and your perceptions help sharpen me! Plus I’m sure Wes finds it interesting as well! I think whenever any of us throw something out there to people, we wonder how it’s landing—- did they “get it” like I intended it?!! Did I make my points in a way that it found…