"Your elders will dream dreams," writes the prophet Joel, speaking of a time when God's Spirit inspires new visions by both men and women, slave and free, young and old, everywhere.
While the following reflections may not seem like new insights to many of you, here are three dreams I'm praying will transform our lives in the New Year and the years to come.
1. I'm seeing Spirit-birthed community as essential in re-visioning who we are and motivating us to live purpose-driven and other-centered lives. We cannot become whole persons or effective servants of God without deep relationships with fellow believers, since the Bible is not simply a source of inspiration for personal enrichment but is addressed to members of a God-inspired movement meant to celebrate the shalom of heaven here on earth.
2. I'm seeing divine love as the mother of all virtues, and the command to love God passionately and every neighbor compassionately as the sum of everything found in scripture. If love is our greatest mandate, our failure to demonstrate it is our greatest sin. On the other hand, every act of Christ-like love and mercy we show will result in untold blessing.
3. I'm seeing people around the globe as one God-blessed neighborhood in which each of its 8 billion inhabitants deserves an equitable share and no one is in want anywhere unless all are in want. As wealthy North Americans we dare not "fare sumptuously every day" while masses of impoverished people are denied the equivalence of scraps from our bountiful tables. I see adopting a kind of internationalist mindset as a needed antidote to our individualism and nationalism.
I believe all of this could be revolutionary and life changing, and dream of being a part of a joyfully repentant people who proclaim peace on earth and goodwill toward people everywhere.
Thanks for your prayers and for taking time to reflect on posts like this recent widely read one:
No comments:
Post a Comment