The theme for this week is Bury Dreams– Grow God's Reality.
The disciples had dreams of what would happen when Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God. They dreamed of material prosperity, political freedom, of vengeance against the Romans. These dreams had to be surrendered, as they followed Jesus and learned to dream God's dreams.
Someone once said the problem is not that our dreams are too big, it is that our dreams are too small. Maybe our problem really is that we dream and long for things God never promised or willed for our lives. We all have dreams of how we would like our lives to be. Are we willing to bury those dreams and realize God's dreams for our lives?
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, celebrity Brad Pitt reflected on his lead role in the movie Fight Club, which is about a man who has the American dream and yet remains unsatisfied:
Pitt: Man, I know all these things are supposed to seem important to us—the car, the condo, our version of success—but if that's the case, why is the general feeling out there reflecting more impotence and isolation and desperation and loneliness? If you ask me, I say toss all this—we gotta find something else. Because all I know is that at this point in time, we are heading for a dead end, a numbing of the soul, a complete atrophy of the spiritual being. And I don't want that.
Rolling Stone: So if we're heading toward this kind of existential dead end in society, what do you think should happen?
Pitt: Hey, man, I don't have those answers yet. The emphasis now is on success and personal gain. [smiles] I'm sitting in it, and I'm telling you, that's not it. I'm the guy who's got everything. I know. But I'm telling you, once you've got everything, then you're just left with yourself. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it doesn't help you sleep any better, and you don't wake up any better because of it. -Rolling Stone (10-28-99)
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2 comments:
I didn't understand why you clumped all dreams together as useless and non-productive.
Your example was "I'm dreaming of a million dollars, but it ain't happening."
Did you ever hear this joke:
A man, in desperate need of money, prays to God that he win the lottery. "Please God! Let me win a million dollars!"
Nothing happens and the next morning, the man prays again. "Please God! Let this be the day I win a million dollars"
Again, nothing happens. The next morning, the man prays, "Please God! I'll take a thousand dollars. Please help me."
At this point, God felt the need the need to reply to the man, "You're going to have to meet me half way on this one. Buy a lotto ticket."
This isn't implying that God will grant wishes (hence, your sermon about dreams.) But there are dreams that come true and only come true with dedication and a constant eye on that goal/dream. We should discard the unrealistic expectations we have of God and ourselves, but why should we discard the dreams of becoming better people?
I didn't think the message was that we should get rid of our dreams- but that we should be discerning between our own desires and what God would have us strive for.
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