It strikes me that many people have given up on their dreams, if they had them in the first place.  I see those that are struggling financially, or nearing retirement, or unhappy with their work, or whatever else might be creating challenges in their lives, giving up their dreams and giving in to the fact that anything better for them is not possible.  They have given in to the self-limiter.As I myself have gone through recent hard struggles in my life, I too gave into the self-limiter, and I may still be.  I have somehow come to believe that I did not have permission to dream, and that life sucks and will always be a struggle.

Well, its clear, that as we follow Jesus, that the road won’t be easy.  But I really didn’t necessarily sign up for this.  So I am working through a dilemma, and you might be as well:  wanting to follow Jesus while wanting to experience some good things out of life on this earth too. 

Was that a ridiculous statement or what?  Isn’t Jesus the be-all, end-all to our fulfillment? 

Isn’t he the Bread of Life and the one we can find eternal sustenance in?  But what about the family I want to start and the home I want to raise it in? 

What about the job I want that is better than this drudgery?  What about the secure retirement of my friends that are concerned that they won’t be able to afford a place to live near their family? 

And how about wanting even a small break from the difficulties of this life?  How does all this get reconciled together?  Admittedly, I am mostly in the dark about these and other lingering questions about my faith, but I will give a stab at some answers.

Clearly, we have been taught that to have dreams about better things in life is somehow selfish. And when the life-going gets tough, it becomes all to easy to give completely up on wanting anything good to happen to us.  We resign ourselves and languish in regret and maybe even resentment, and mostly hopelessness.  I think God has more joy and grace in mind for us.

Has God perhaps given us desires, or dreams for good stuff here on earth, to enjoy within his context even through our sufferings?  I believe he has.

But we let go all too easily.  And we somehow feel that God doesn’t want us to want to the good things here on this earth.  While he is our sole fulfillment, he has also allowed in us the capacities to create and experience good things and environments, like warm, hospitable homes, sculpture, custom hot rods, a symphony, a great place to retire and be around our kids and grandkids, a great girlfriend, ice cream, a cabin on the lake, , physical health, a gourmet dinner of fois gras and truffled potatos, or even a family gathering around the barbecue, (or even to have a full and unbroken relationship in the first place). 

Yes, eternally, these things (and the many other things we may yearn to have) will never provide us with ultimate respite from the sinful dregs that burden the world.  And while all of the above things can tempt us into idolatry, somehow they are still good enough that God has given us capacity to desire them.  But this can never be at the expense of desiring the True Feast at the Banquet Table with Jesus as our gracious host. 

We must dream again, and grab hold of the good things God may be inspiring us to want.  We must sit down with God, at his table, and inquire of him if the things dear to our hearts, and luscious to our tastes, are things he would have us desire. 

We must get clear on how, when we experience the good things of this life, we can impart unto others the savory, grace-filled life he has for them.  We must again be freely fixated upon the the profound pleasures of following Jesus intimately, in his glorious footsteps. 

Then, like seasoning with salt, the cornucopia of flavors we have the capacity to taste in life (relationships, hobbies, experiences, travels, jobs, careers, etc) will be brought to life and tied together into a savory whole.  If we can somehow even get a small taste of each of these things, our lives shall have been all the better.  Then, and only then, our dreams and desires can truly be his. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2006 at 4:39 pm and is filed under By Alex, Challenge/Growth, Life, Living Like Jesus, Spiritual Formation, Theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.