Thought for Today
Genesis 40:8 They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me."
Joel 2:28 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Romans 15:20 Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else's foundation,
Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
I’m still thinking this morning about dreams, hopes, goals and ambitions. Yesterday our grandson came over to help us with some work in our yard. We are still coping with the ravages of winter; and, we had plants that needed to be relocated in the garden, weeds to be pulled and mulch to be spread. It was a good opportunity to spend time with a grandchild, get needed worked completed and for him to earn a little money for extras when he is off at college next year.
As we worked, we chatted. Not conversations with an agenda; not talk about any specific topics, just casual chatting between non-adjacent generations. I could not help but think about his own dreams, hopes, goals and ambitions. Just for alliteration, I began to gather all of that under the categories of aims, ambitions and aspirations (in alphabetical order, not in order of importance).
That, of course, led me to think about Venn diagrams. I first learned of Venn diagrams in a college course titled ‘Linear Algebra.’ They are graphic illustrations of sets and their relationships, named for the mathematician John Venn. For those not mathematically inclined, think of the Olympic rings. As I pondered all of this yesterday, I pictured in my mind one circle representing aims, a second representing ambitions and a third representing aspirations. I pictured the 3 circles overlapping. Then I thought, we live our lives in that area where those circles overlap. Our lives, our accomplishments are in that mutual area; and, those accomplishments are shaped and influenced by each of those sets: our aims; our ambitions; and, our aspirations.
Of course, life is not a Venn diagram. There are a multitude of other factors, other circles representing other influences on our accomplishments. There is an ad we see here on television from an area college including the assertions that abilities are evenly distributed but opportunities are not. That ad always irritates me, because abilities are obviously not evenly distributed. Someone else got my full share of musical ability. Someone else got most of my athletic ability.
Many of us lived through the 1960s. Even in Texas we heard all about the Age of Aquarius, the college demonstrations and sit-ins, the riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Those were examples of the words of the prophet Joel, “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, . . . and your young men shall see visions.” Now, our generation is witnessing our own grandchildren prophesying, dreaming and having visions of what might (and should?) be.
Dreams and visions are tricky things. Initially, dreams did not work out well for Joseph. Sharing his dreams about his parents and siblings resulted in his being sold into slavery. Later on, his dreams were what provided his path to freedom and his ultimate rise to power. Joseph lived out his life in that area in the Venn diagram where the circles of aims, ambitions and aspirations intersected. But, Joseph also had other God-given abilities.
We have another circle which intersects with those others. We have a circle representing our faith. Christian life is lived where our circles of aims, ambitions, aspirations, abilities and faith intersect. It’s difficult (impossible?) to represent all of that in a three-dimensional Venn diagram. It’s always a challenge to live a Christian life in a secular society. Being a Christian is not about things being simple or easy. It is about our being faithful and faith-filled. WWJD? We know what Jesus did do. We just need to be faithful to what Jesus told us to do.
Stay safe, dream faithfully and faith-filled, trust God,
Pastor Ray