I Have a Dream...Imagine...

Pessimism sucks!  It does no one any good.  No one is blessed by pessimism, but unrealistic optimism is not very helpful either.  Realism is crucial.  So, in my view, realistic optimism is the best disposition to possess.  

But sometimes, even realistic dreams don't feel very realistic - at least not in the beginning.  And it seems to me that very few people have the capacity to see what possibilities might lie ahead.  Once he left the Beatles and went solo, John Lennon wrote the song "Imagine".  Lyrically and musically it is a masterpiece.  The lyrics are a masterpiece, but they aren't very realistic.  After all, Lennon is only asking us to imagine.  He is not telling us that any of his optimistic ideas are even possible.  He admits he is a dreamer.  As I mentioned above, dreams are crucial, but many of us are unable to imagine the things that dreams are made of.  So we need those visionary types to help spur our imaginations. But the dreams that have any chance of coming true should at least be rooted in reality and most of what Lennon imagines is far from realistic - at least for the next several hundred years.

But a few years before Lennon's song was released, another man had a dream.  His name was Martin Luther King Jr.  And though his dream has not yet been realized, it is far more realistic than Lennon's and I do believe there is a real possibility that much of what he hoped for in his famous speech from 1963 can be realized in the lifetime of my daughter Ashlyn, if not before.  In fact, much of it has already become true, at least partially.  

I consider myself to be a dreamer, but one whose dreams are rooted in reality.  I am optimistic, but not naïve.  I believe that people have the capacity to change (I've seen change in my own life and in the lives of those closest to me) and if people can change, then whole communities can change for the better.  So, if I were to borrow from both MLK and John Lennon, what might I dream?  What might I imagine?  My dreams are rooted in my vocation as a minister, and so I imagine a better future for my church community.  

I have a dream that one day we will all put as much time, energy, and passion into our faith as we do our jobs and our hobbies.  I have a dream that our commitment to Christ and his people will not be rooted in our circumstances, but instead in our relationship with Christ and our fellow brothers and sisters.  I have a dream that one day, to riff on another 60's icon, we will not ask what our church can do for us, but what we can do for our church.  

Imagine if our spiritual family was as important to us as is our physical family.  How might that transform our relationship to the church?  I have a dream that one day being a member of the church is to be a valued member of a community - a community where all of life is shared, both the triumphs and the struggles.  

Imagine if we all continued to grow in our knowledge and understanding to the point where we all had a mature understanding of scripture and theology!  Of course, we would never assume that we have arrived.  Just the opposite! The more we would grow, the more we would become aware of how much more we need to grow!  What would it be like in our Christian communities if there were no questions which were off limits?  I have a dream that one day, followers of Jesus, will feel just as comfortable expressing their doubts and fears as they do the things they are fully convinced of.  Imagine if instead of judging the theology and doctrine of those with whom we disagree, we instead allowed their perspective to help us grow in our faith.

I have a dream that one day, we will love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  I imagine that some day, we might all love our neighbors as ourselves and do to them what we would have them do to us.  Imagine what it will be like when our Lord Jesus returns and God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.  Imagine what it might be like if we all began to (imperfectly) live into that reality now.  And to quote a more recent icon, let's dream of the world we want to live in and let's dream out loud!  Because sometimes, dreams come true. - Shay 

A House Built on the Rock

 For over four months, I read the Sermon on the Mount each and every day.  I was preaching a sermon series from the greatest of all sermons, so I wanted to get Jesus' teaching into my head and even more so into my heart and life.  As I read this foundational - almost constitutional teaching each day, it dawned on me that in order to live out Jesus' exhortations which begin in Matt 5:21 and following, a person must become the kind of person that the Beatitudes in Matt 5:3-10 describe.  Alas, I am not yet that guy!  But I hope to be.  I pray that through the Holy Spirit's transforming work in my life I become what those Beatitudes describe.  

I need to become poor in spirit - not self-reliant, but Spirit reliant.  I long to have the confidence that even when I mourn, God the Father will comfort me.  If I want to inherit the renewed earth in the age to come, then I must become meek.  If I find myself (which I often do) lacking in righteousness (both in my disposition and my actions) then I need a greater hunger and thirst for righteousness.  God knows that I need mercy and so I must become merciful.  And if I want to someday see God, then I need God to create in me a pure heart.  And if I want to be a son of the King, then I must be one who pursues peace.  And even if I am persecuted for righteousness' sake, I should not be surprised, but rather I should rejoice and be glad as I persevere towards God's heavenly kingdom to come on earth.  

The more and more I become conformed to the image of Jesus and thus become like the above, the more I will be a faithful member of Christ's community - a community that is the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and the city set on a hill.  And then, alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ, I will fulfill God's creational intentions by living out a greater righteousness that does to another what I would want done to myself.  I won't be one who is angry and says hurtful things with my words.  I'll be one who is not only faithful to my spouse with my actions, but even with my thoughts.  I'll become a person of integrity who chooses not to retaliate when wronged, but instead chooses to go the extra mile and prays even for those who persecute me.  And I won't practice my piety for show, but through a genuine relationship with God, I'll communicate simply and directly.  God will become the treasure that I seek and I will learn to trust him to provide me with all I need, even allowing myself to go without from time to time.  And then I can freely step away from the judgment seat and offer grace and mercy to others, because I am so aware of all the grace and mercy I have received through Jesus.  I'll know that if I ask, I will receive, if I search, I will find, and if I knock, the door will be opened to me.  Because I will have come to know that God is for me and not against me and that he is good, I will trust him with everything, including myself.  And with that assurance, planted firmly in my heart, I will be able to walk (ever-so-slowly) down that hard road into the narrow gate.  The Spirit will produce fruit in my life and I will not only know the Lord, but more importantly, I will be known by him.  And then I can build the very foundation of my life on the rock of Jesus Christ, knowing that no matter how fierce the storm winds blow, nor how high the floods of life rise, my house will stand firm.  And I will know that I can trust Jesus with all these things, because all authority in heaven and on earth has been granted to him.

I know that all of these things will one day be true.  Not because I can achieve any of this on my own, but through the Spirit's transformation in my life, these things are gradually becoming a reality.  Emphasis on gradually.  And I am encouraged by Paul's writing to the Philippian church when he said, "he who began a good work in you all, will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.  Come Lord Jesus - come! - Shay