Sinner’s Need of Christ
13
fled from his father’s home, he was weighed down with a sense of
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guilt. Lonely and outcast as he was, separated from all that had made
life dear, the one thought that above all others pressed upon his soul,
was the fear that his sin had cut him off from God, that he was forsaken
of Heaven. In sadness he lay down to rest on the bare earth, around
him only the lonely hills, and above, the heavens bright with stars.
As he slept, a strange light broke upon his vision; and lo, from the
plain on which he lay, vast shadowy stairs seemed to lead upward to
the very gates of heaven, and upon them angels of God were passing
up and down; while from the glory above, the divine voice was heard
in a message of comfort and hope. Thus was made known to Jacob
that which met the need and longing of his soul—a Saviour. With joy
and gratitude he saw revealed a way by which he, a sinner, could be
restored to communion with God. The mystic ladder of his dream
represented Jesus, the only medium of communication between God
and man.
This is the same figure to which Christ referred in His conversation
with Nathanael, when He said, “Ye shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
John
1:51
. In the apostasy, man alienated himself from God; earth was cut
off from heaven. Across the gulf that lay between, there could be no
communion. But through Christ, earth is again linked with heaven.
With His own merits, Christ has bridged the gulf which sin had made,
so that the ministering angels can hold communion with man. Christ
connects fallen man in his weakness and helplessness with the Source
of infinite power.
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But in vain are men’s dreams of progress, in vain all efforts for the
uplifting of humanity, if they neglect the one Source of hope and help
for the fallen race. “Every good gift and every perfect gift” (
James
1:17
) is from God. There is no true excellence of character apart from
Him. And the only way to God is Christ. He says, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”
John
14:6
.
The heart of God yearns over His earthly children with a love
stronger than death. In giving up His Son, He has poured out to us
all heaven in one gift. The Saviour’s life and death and intercession,
the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working