What Should We Dream?

On the wall, here, just above my desk, there is a collection of Post-it notes, which create a collage of sorts, composed of quotes and ideas. For several years now it has been evolving, sometimes expanding, other times contracting. Now and again I will come across words in the passage of some book, which will bring me to a halt. They demand my attention and challenge my thoughts. I stop reading just to give them their due contemplation. Perhaps in those moments my heart is conditioned particularly to hear these words and, for this, I collect them, desiring not to loose them. I scribble them down and place them there up on the wall. And I come back to them, every so often and consider their importance and profoundness, constructing additional thoughts upon them. 

Over time, though, sometimes certain of these words become stale and they loose their significance to me. Maybe my heart changes, or perhaps my mind. Whatever the reason may be, the result is the same: they become common, and so I subtract them from the wall. Some have lasted and some have not. But from that collage there is one quotation that I hope to keep, placing it before me wherever I reside, and binding it to whatever desire or passion that may carry me on through this life. It is a quote by C.S. Lewis which comes from his quintessential treatise, Mere Christianity. He states

"If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next."

Pause. Let this sink in.

What is the purpose of our ministry? What is the purpose of any ministry? We have been challenged to dream together. To dream alone is no longer acceptable. We are a community built around Christ, and if we are his body, then our minds can no longer be our own, and neither our desires. So what will our dreams be? What will their focus be upon? 

What could we hope for, if not to change this world? But be warned that if we focus our efforts on the wrong things we may end up building an empire of our own. This cannot happen, for we are called to build up His kingdom. This community is not our own. It is God's. What we do and say will be for his glory, if we choose to lead a legacy that will last. Now, if you dare, drop the goal of acquiring more and greater wealth. Shed the American dream and dream a little bigger. Dream a little more intentionally. If we want to impact this world, we must first think of the next. So, dream of an everlasting kingdom built of light, if you can even picture it. Dream of an eternal home free from death and suffering. Dream of the pure worship of the King that bled and died for your soul. Dream of Him, the most glorious, and highest of any thing that you could ever dream.

Jesus, from his sermon on the mount, spoke these words:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6.19-21, ESV)

Pause. Let's let this sink in.