Thursday, September 17, 2009

I have a dream! Part 2

The dream for "greatness" is alive in all of us.

We are all aware of this dream because it's God's dream for all of us. I just read Erwin McManus saying the same thing in his book, Soul Cravings, "The maddening reality is that each and everyone of us has been created with a soul craving to become - to become something - something better, something different, something special, something unique, something admired, something valued, something more than we are."
The original disciples were also caught up in this dream and asked Jesus about it on more than one occasion. Jesus never really rebuked them for such aspirations but used the opportunity to redefine "greatness" for them. He described a "greatness" that is not found in title or position or exercised in acts of power and control but displayed in the role of a servant and in humble acts of love, kindness and service. He made greatness possible for all.

Let me be the first to say that I certainly don't feel that I have achieved anything "great" or have become "great" in any way. But God has shown Himself "great" in my life. He took the broken and shattered dreams and fulfilled them all. He gave me a wife that I can't imagine life without. He gave me a beautiful family. He allowed me to fulfill my original calling as a youth pastor and has called me beyond that to "greater" things. I feel a little like Job after all was taken from him in the first chapter of his book and returned to him in greater ways in the last chapter. God is good and God is great!

I have also seen Him do "great" things in other people's lives in which He has allowed me to play a small role. There is no boasting in accomplishment or character when living God's dream of greatness. Our acts can seem so small and trivial, and our words so random and ignored but they become great because our great God takes them and puts His love and His power behind them. We can only say, "God is good and God is great!"

I am still pursuing the dream.

I believe that God still has greater things for me to do, that there is yet a work for me to accomplish. I believe that everything that has happened in my life up to this point has been preparation for this work. That work may be in Denver or somewhere beyond but I am ready now to get going. I am anxious to move forward. I am excited about the future. I am ready for the adventure. I never want to stop pursuing this dream.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

I have a dream! Part 1

I have a dream.

My dream began at a very unusual time. It came to me in my darkest hour, during my greatest failure, at my lowest point, when all my other dreams seemed to be shattered. It came to me through a prayer that I would verbalize out loud to God. God seemed very far away and I would shout it out hoping God would hear. "I don't want to die like this, God! I don't want this to be the end of my story!" I know it sounds morbid but thankfully God, in all of His faithfulness, heard me. At that point it came to me - an overwhelming sense that God had something "great" for me to do. And not just a "great" work to accomplish but that He actually wanted me to be "great." This was a bold dream, a completely absurd dream, possibly could be construed as an arrogant dream but, I assure you, it was a God dream. For me, it took the shattering of my dreams and future in order to embrace the dream that God had for me. It took this low point to realize that . . .

God has a dream for me.

It's a dream for me to achieve greatness in the way that God defines greatness. It's a dream for me to find success in the way that God defines success. It's a dream for me to truly live as He defines living. It's easy to miss out on this dream. We are often duped into thinking God saved us to be "good." So we go by the rules, conform to a standard, put on our Sunday best. We strive to be "good" instead of pursuing something "great." It can be a disappointing life to live to be "good." It's hard to be "good." We and everyone around us fail at it often. And when this happens, we tend to write people off, judge and condemn, as well as live with guilt and shame that God never intended us to live under. We were never able to be "good" before Christ entered our lives and to pursue it now falls well short of God's dream for us. I'm not suggesting that we are suppose to be "bad" or that being "good" doesn't matter but I am saying that "good" is a poor substitute for "great." God's dream for you is bigger than that. And, to be honest, its easier to be "great" than "good." To be "good," I have to follow a lot of rules but to be "great" I only have to keep two: Love God and love others. And the funny thing is, when you start practicing these, you find it much easier to be "good" and to be "good" for the right reasons.

And now I have a dream to fulfill God's dream.

(To be continued)