The Dream is Real

 

I love to dream.

I can see pictures and images of new ideas that take on shape in my mind and they always speak to me of possibilities of things not yet seen.  It's beautiful and powerful to me. I can feel inspired and these inspirations can lead to thoughts of: "Wouldn't it be amazing if this was something that really happened?"

But there is another side to this coin, a side that is a little hidden from the sun.  On this shady terrain these ideas are not as easily embraced.  This is the 'real life' side, the place where dreams often come to die, or at the very least exist on life-support.  The voices here say that dreams are impractical and cause problems because in order for them to be implemented, they must be embedded in real-life amidst all the different opinions, traditions, power-structures and practicalities.  

It takes a lot of work, perseverance, determination and commitment in order for a dream to be made a reality.  To be honest, it takes a lot of things that are polar opposites of what makes up dreams in order for the dreams to be born and take on life. What a paradox.

One thing that I have noticed is that if a person is not careful the pressures of life can begin to suppress dreams.  What once felt like a vibrant source of life can, over time and through lenses of hard-fought life-battles, be seen now as almost dangerous.  Something like protecting safety seems to settle over the landscape and terms like 'new', 'innovative' and 'dynamic' become things to avoid.  

We have now entered into the world of status quo.  And here the mortality rate of dreams is high. 

But a dream that has no chance of being born into reality is somehow lacking.  It lacks substance if it has no chance to exist so that others can experience it as well.  And it is onto this stage that Jesus steps and begins to show us just how incredible He really is.

There is an amazing scene that is painted in John 13:3-5 about how Jesus lived out his thought-life with real-world impact.  And the only way I can really describe it is like this:  it is simply beautiful. 

This passage says that Jesus had come to realize that he had come from God and had all encompassing power at his disposal.  That in itself is simply an incredible revelation!  It would take more space than I have here to really describe the implications of this.  Suffice it to say that the vastness of scope, and the infinite possibilities that arise from realizing this, is something that might have elevated Him beyond normal experience. . .could I say almost like a dream?  But Jesus knew that the maginificence of this mind-bending thought was meant to impact others.  It needed to be made really real.

And that leads to the unbelievable way in which He pursued making his 'dream' a reality.  He didn't take his God-status and his unmatched power to launch a winner-take-all campaign of self-elevation throughout the world.  Instead he did this:

He took off his coat, got down on his knees, and washed his friends feet. 

This all-powerful God-man took his 'dream' and made it a reality by expressing love.

All I can say to that is a stumbled-mouthed 'thank you' because he does that for me every single day.  He is still in the business of pouring out his unbelieveably humble love over me every day.  And in the process causes me to see that it is possible for me too to live out the dreams He puts in me. New life!  New hope!  All backed up by His power as He shows me how to make His dreams a reality through me so others may be blessed.  Unbelievable.

Maybe this is important for you to hear today.  Maybe you need to know that Jesus is all about using his incomparable strength and status in order to kneel down to make you know that you are loved.  

If it seems to good to be real, well then, welcome to the dream-made-reality, because it's true for me and it's true for you.  

Much love to you today,

B

 Who Am I?

I think that one of the greatest questions that is being asked in our time, by every generation, is what you read in the title of this post.  And I think it's a question that is so deeply ingrained in every one of us that when the answer doesn't seem to come, we press and press, and begin to feel that desperation that arises when you know something important needs to be addressed but there seems to be no way to 'fix it'. We begin to scream like little children that just don't know any better way.

It's all around us.  We see it in the political realm that seems to be more defined in the public's mind by shouting matches and deception rather than sharing common ground in the very real challenges that face our world.  We see it in families where the fallout of disagreement and disillusionment leads to the only option that seems viable, which is to leave.  And we see it in the Family of God that is meant to portray the kind of love that is supposed to bind people together; to show the world that there is another way that doesn't lead to leaving.  And yet it still happens. . .

I don't think most people realize that the burning question that smolders at the base of these feelings and actions, is one of identity.  People don't know who they are, and yet they know they should.  So it becomes a question that breaks us: it breaks us because it's knit into our DNA.  We can't escape it, and yet we struggle so mightily to find the answer that eludes us.

Until. . .

Until we find ourselves being found.  I know it sounds strange, but it's true.  Until we are found by someone who has the ability to speak to who we really are, through all our turmoil, inside us and around us, we will continue to scream into the wind that same question.

Being 'found' means that we are no longer wandering aimlessly, without purpose or direction.  Being found brings a sense of stability and peace.  It brings order out of chaos.  It sets the world right.  And that's exactly what needs to happen within the heart and soul of every human being.  It's what we long for: to be set right; to be found; to be known.

Jesus was sent to this ball of dirt in order to set us right.  He came to meet our greatest need.  He came to help us to know who we are and to tell us that we are known by Him.

I still struggle to really know who I am.  I still wrestle with feelings that confuse and frustrate me.  But I am growing in my understanding and acceptance that I am truly known by Jesus and that makes all the difference in the world to me.  He continually speaks to me about who I am and it slowly changes me from the inside out.  He says to me through words found in His Book that 'I am rooted and established in love.' He says to me that His love for me is too wide, high, long and deep for me to even comprehend.  And He tells me this to convince me that it's real.  I am known by Him.  I am loved by Him.  

I am no different than everyone else.  I have an intense longing to know who I really am.  And I can still struggle to see and feel that clearly.  But there is a rising sun in my heart that shines this truth with growing intensity that says this to me through the fog: Jesus knows me and He loves me. 

And that's enough.  

Be blessed friends,

B