Continuation - Dreams

There is much more that needs to be said about necessary passion, and dying to self, and love and how all of that relates to living the way that Jesus wants us to live.

However, my thoughts have recently been taking a small turn.
I've been thinking a great deal about dreams.
More specifically, I have been considering how dreams connect with passion which connect with how we live our lives.

It would be safe to assert that we all live our days in pursuit of SOMETHING.
We are all pursuing some THING or some ONE or some GOAL or some PASSION or some DREAM.
It is the pursuit of this THING that gives us the drive to live.
Obviously, we are all, as Chritians, supposed to live in a passionate pursuit of Christ. But what that looks like at the individual level varies from person to person because each person is created uniquely.

So what does all of this have to do with life, you may ask.
Well, that is a very good question!
The reality of living for a certain goal, is something that is very evident in America.
I will make a generalization here, but it is one that many can relate to: Many American's live for the goal of: Financial Security, Wealth, or some combination of the two.
Many people seem to equate security and money with happiness.

I don't think that my generation is quite as infatuated with money as past generations, but the desire is still evident.

At any rate, the average American rushes aroud pursuing some goal.
Most Americans never even have time to stop and think what's going on, they just rush from activity to activity, and pursue the next goal as quickly as possible.
But when a disciple of Christ sits down and thinks about such things, he will quickly have some questions:
Is seeking financial security really the reason for living?
What are MY goals?
What am I really pursuing?

It is obvious that the way a person spends his money, they he spends his time, and the goals he pursues, well, that is who this person really is.
Our goals and pursuits tell us a lot about who we really are.


Ok so, let's draw everything together here.
1 - Americans rush around pursuing many goals and passions, and many of them are not worthwhile.
2 - The true disciple of Christ wishes to align his life with the way that Christ calls us to live.
3 - If Christ calls us to live a certain way, then our goals are to match up with His.


What truly brings us, as a Christian, happiness?
What brings fulfillment?
What brings satisfaction?

Catch this statement because it is the centerpiece of this discussion:
Our lives are FULL when we live to bring GLORY to CHRIST and ENJOY HIM forever.
Those two things are not mutually exclusive, they go hand in hand.
Our lives are FULL when we stand before an evening sky and point to the heavens and say "LOOK! Look at ALL of the stars up there! God put them there! He is GLORIOUS!" and at the very same moment...something crazy happens. We see who we truly are in light of Christ, we see that we are nothing and God is everything, we see that HE is BIG, and we are so very small; and it is in that moment that we are most satisfied.
As a disciple of Christ, we are most satisfied in the moments where God is glorified and we enjoy HIM.

This idea brings us full circle back to this question: What are we pursuing?
Are we pursuing self or are we pursuing the things of Christ?
Are we pursuing happiness or are we pursuing the happiness that is only found in Christ.

As little children, many of us have dreams.
We have really big dreams. We want to be astronauts, or the President, or a Major League Baseball player, etc. As we grow up many of us lose the dreams. We lose the passion. We replace the dreams we had with dreams that are "more realistic" or "more attainable." In reality, we replace big dreams with small dreams.
Our "growing up" makes our dreams get "smaller" for some weird reason.

This same thing often happens in our relationship with Christ.
When we are first saved, we will do anything to spend a few extra moments with our Savior. We are infatuated with Christ. We see Christ in everything.
But something happens when we "grow up" in our faith.
Our knowledge increases yes, but our Wonder grows smaller.
We no longer see Christ in everything.
We no longer simply bask in His presence.
We don't feast on His Word like we used to.
Things become "routine" or, dare I say it, "boring"
Songs of praise no longer move our hearts, they no longer bring emotions or tears.
The cross loses its brilliance.
And Christ is replaced with something else.

I don't think this happens on purpose. We never wake up one day and say, "today, I'm going to lose the wonder of Christ." No, nothing like that ever happens in a day. It is something that happens over many days and weeks and months and years.
It is a slow fading away, a gradual thing.
And it is something that will take time to get back.

So my resolution is this:
1 - I resolve to do everything I can to once again live in complete wonder of Christ and of the cross.
2 - To do everything I can for the glory of God, and to find my joy fully in Him.
3 - To say "NO" to our cultures view of happiness and success and say "YES" to Christ.


I think many of us struggle with our dreams.
We no longer have big dreams.
Perhaps it is time to start living like a child again in some ways.
Let's get back the total and complete reliance on our Father that we had when we were younger.
Let's start to dream big dreams again. These dreams will be the passion and the fire that fuel our days and make our lives count for eternity.
Chasing these kind of dreams will help us to avoid the pitfalls of flailing aimlessly about with the intention of attaining temporary happiness as so many of us in America are prone to do.
Let's regain the wonder of the cross and the wonder of Christ that we had when we were first saved.
This may first mean de-cluttering our minds and our schedules, and refocusing more and more on Him.
Let's stop being satisfied with a low level of living.
We have been given divine power to live in this age!
We have been given ALL things that pertain to LIFE and GODLINESS!
Let's live this LIFE WELL!
Let's go for it, and give it our best shot.

For the glory of God, and not ourselves.
For the destruction of self, and the purposes of Him who IS our lives.

Jesus, You are our lives.
Help us to dream big dreams, because You are a BIG GOD.
Help us Lord,
Help our unbelief.
Help us to live a Gospel oriented life,
a glory oriented life,
and a life that displays the love of Your Son.
Help us Lord, we are entirely inadequate.