“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The Apostle Paul (Rom. 12:2).
President Woodrow Wilson once said, “We grow by dreams. All big individuals are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let those great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.”
The writer of Hebrews spends the eleventh chapter talking about some of the heroes of our faith, like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and Gideon. While doing so, the writer states, “All of these people died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.” These wonderful people of faith, journeyed forward into the unknown -- but not without a destination – they saw up ahead the dream of God, and did their part to take the people as far as they could in their lifetimes. God bless the dreamers.
Right now, we are the blessed ones who are living in the dream they saw only at a distance: Jesus – his life, his love, his compassion, his teachings, his hope, his life, his sacrifice, his resurrection. Today, we are the ones blessed with the dream of God. We are the dreamers, living in God’s dream, Jesus’ kingdom, and because of that we can never settle for anything less than God’s dream.
One of The Statler Brothers hit songs was, “The Class of ’57.” It’s a sad song that talks about the lives of those who made up the class of 1957 and all the dreams they had, and where they ended up:
“Tommy’s selling used cars, Nancy’s fixing hair. Harvey runs a grocery store and Margaret doesn’t care. Jerry drives a truck for Sears and Charlotte’s on the make. Paul sells life insurance and part-time real estate.
“And the class of ‘57 had its dreams. We all thought we’d change the world. Without our great works and deeds; Or maybe we just thought the world would change to fit our needs. The class of ‘57 had its dreams.
“Betty runs a trailer park. Jan sells Tupperware. Randy’s in an insane ward and Mary’s on welfare. Charley took a job with Ford. Joe took Freddy’s wife. Charlotte took a millionaire and Freddy took his life.
“But he class of ‘57 had its dreams. Ah, the class of ‘57 had its dreams.”
Now please understand, there is nothing wrong with selling used cars, fixing hair, running a grocery store, driving a truck, selling insurance, Tupperware, or working for Ford. But, if your life doesn’t include being a part of God’s dream – living in, being part of, and expanding the kingdom of God, then we have a problem. Because that means somewhere along the line, you’ve come to believe you’re nothing more than job description. You’ve lost the ability to see the bigger picture for your life and the life of God’s world; you’ve lost sight of that dream the writer of Hebrews talks about.
Abraham was a rich man, but we don’t know exactly what he did to earn that money. Abel worked the soil, Noah we know he was good with wood, Jacob worked with live-stock, Joseph had a government position, Moses was a fugitive, Rahab had a checkered past, and Gideon a trembling warrior. But none of them is remembered because of their jobs, they’ve gone into the annals of history for following God’s dream.
Take the time today to sit with God and ask Him to fill you up with the “dream” he has for you and the world. Ask God to guide you to see what part you are called to play in the plan on changing the world forever. Yes, you have a part to play and it’s big – don’t lose the dream.
~ Pastor Dan