June 25

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance. — Exod 24:1 BSB

God is always far above us, and the only way to get closer to Him is to rise out of sin and worldliness into a holier, purer life. Climbing Mount Sinai wasn’t easy, and drawing nearer to God isn’t easy either—it requires struggle and effort. We must make stepping-stones of our old, sinful selves if we want to rise in life and character. We must ascend step by step.

Jacob’s vision of a ladder is the true picture of life—it’s not a level path through grassy meadows but rocky steps up a mountainside. As the hymn goes:

“Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raises me!”

A dying child once cried plaintively, “Lift me higher! Lift me higher!” Her father lifted her as high as he could, but she continued to plead, “Lift me higher!” Soon, she was lifted out of her father’s arms and into the arms of her Heavenly Father. On her grave, they carved her name and the words: “Lifted higher!” God wants all of us to come nearer to Him, to rise into life’s better things.