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