ENGAGING THOUGHT
These days our culture seems to be obsessed with one of two things: vampires and zombies. Interesting when you think about it: the first is a perennial image of power without accountability, and the second represents mindless consumption without consequence. No wonder the books are flying off the shelves and the movies are sold out! Be honest, who wouldn't want to have the power to do or influence whatever they wish without being held responsible for it (at least until you meet someone carrying silver bullets)? Who wouldn't want to eat donuts and bacon and rich foods all day every day - without ever having to worry about clogged arteries or belly-fat? Yep, aside from the total absence of morality or the limbs falling off, I'd take either one. How about you?
Ironically, many people carry around similar desires. Not the desire for blood-sucking or brain-eating, but the desire for the impossible. Have you ever expressed a dream you've had that had no real basis in reality? That's not a dream; that's a fantasy. Fantasies can be entertaining and even instructive. What they cannot be, however, is fulfilled. Sorry. A favorite fantasy for many Americans goes something like this:
1) Obtain enough money to do whatever you want for the rest of your life.
2) Stop.
Not so ironically, God's DREAM for our lives has little (okay, nothing) in common with this fantasy. [ASIDE: Don't misunderstand me, He's fine with us having vast financial resources at our disposal, as long as they are just that: resources.] God's DREAM for our lives involves the fulfillment of His purposes through us (perpetually lounging on the beach isn't His purpose for us!). Paul was a man tasked with proclaiming the news about God's plan and DREAM to people throughout what is now Greece, Turkey and the Mediterranean region. Take a look at what he wrote to a group in the Greek city of Corinth regarding our purpose:
Ironically, many people carry around similar desires. Not the desire for blood-sucking or brain-eating, but the desire for the impossible. Have you ever expressed a dream you've had that had no real basis in reality? That's not a dream; that's a fantasy. Fantasies can be entertaining and even instructive. What they cannot be, however, is fulfilled. Sorry. A favorite fantasy for many Americans goes something like this:
1) Obtain enough money to do whatever you want for the rest of your life.
2) Stop.
Not so ironically, God's DREAM for our lives has little (okay, nothing) in common with this fantasy. [ASIDE: Don't misunderstand me, He's fine with us having vast financial resources at our disposal, as long as they are just that: resources.] God's DREAM for our lives involves the fulfillment of His purposes through us (perpetually lounging on the beach isn't His purpose for us!). Paul was a man tasked with proclaiming the news about God's plan and DREAM to people throughout what is now Greece, Turkey and the Mediterranean region. Take a look at what he wrote to a group in the Greek city of Corinth regarding our purpose:
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5.18-19 TNIV) .We sometimes make the mistake of lumping DREAMS in with another category of desires: wishes. Walt Disney's Cinderella has taught generations of Americans that "a dream is a wish your heart makes." Ahhh, how sweet. In reality, though, we tend to use the word wish to refer to those things we desire but have absolutely no intent of working towards. A wish differs from a fantasy in that they could become true if we were to get serious about them. Make no mistake, a wish can come true - just not by wishing for it. It takes action to transform something from a wish into a reality. In the final book of the Bible, John, a disciple of Jesus, relates a vision he was given regarding God's assessment of a group of people and their devotion to Him. Fittingly, He uses the word wish in reference to their inaction:
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3.15-16 TNIV).
One of the goals of 60 Days of Dreaming is to help you develop a (perhaps) new understanding and definition of the word dream. When I refer to God's DREAM it means the totality of His plans and purposes for us combined with the unique gifts and abilities He has given to us (which we develop and put into practice) in the context of our life.
ACTION STEP
Now it's time to start going a little deeper and getting honest with yourself.
Make a list of the things you've always wanted to do or have always wished were a reality in your life. The list can be everything from experiences you want to have, skills you want - whatever you've carried around for years.
Using the definitions we've just discovered, do any of these belong in the category of FANTASY? Write "FANTASY" over the top of those.
Which of them belong in the category of WISHES? Same, write "WISH" over the tops of those.
Which ones are left outside the category of FANTASY and WISH? Re-write those in a separate list and write "DREAMS?" above that list.
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