When I was in my early twenties, I sat down one day and made a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish in life. There must have been at least 100 items on the list (whatever happened to that list?) Some of them big, some of them small; some were personal goals; some were the goals of a young preacher. I honestly can’t even remember what all the listed items were. Maybe that’s because some of the items on the list weren't really heart-felt goals. They were just a temporary whim.
Nevertheless, there was one item on my wish list that I remembered and prayed for for a long time – to help start a new church. I hoped to be able to do that when I was young and overflowing with youthful passion. Instead the call came when I was pushing 50 years of age. You should have seen me and Pam dance around the house after that call. It wasn’t pretty. With that call, the vision became more than a whim or a wish. It became an opportunity to use my skills and resources, and get to work making the dream reality.
Here’s what I’m feebly attempting to say. A goal or a dream that exists only on a piece of paper, or only in your imagination, is really nothing more than a whim. It becomes a life-vision when you decide that you will invest the time, the energy, the effort, and the money to make it happen.
Community of Hope currently has the need and vision of some expanded space to enable us to fulfill part of our vision – Empower people to follow Christ. We now face the challenge to take action. You see, a vision without action isn't a vision at all; it's really nothing more than a whim. In order for a vision to be realized, we must be willing to take the necessary steps to see it happen. And, of course, everyone understands that. The question is: how do you do it? How do you get from the place where you're dreaming about a victory to the place where you're celebrating a victory? During the next four Sundays of the Growing Hope series, we’ll be highlighting some of the needed steps.
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