The Hanging Tree

If we can gain access to God's presence, what is it that gives us this privilege? What hoops do we have to jump through? What great feats do we have to accomplish? What Herculean tasks do we have to undertake to be assured of entering into the company of the Great God? What assures us, even now, of his favor? What proof do we have of the claim that a day is coming when the communion we now enjoy by faith will have an added dimension—his very presence? What gets us from the gutter, through the door and into the palace?
A wooden stake, a public gallows, on a little hill just outside ancient Jerusalem!
Why is that? Is there some magic in wood?
Is there a mysterious power in a hanging tree?