Human beings spend a great deal of time dreaming. We spend fully one third of our lives sleeping..... and thus dreaming. Medical doctors tell us that in order for us to live healthy lives we need a certain type of sleep in order to refresh our bodies physically. They call it REM.... short for rapid eye movement which occurs while we dream. It is in this phase of sleep that the bodies hormones and cellular functions are restored, strengthened and renewed. Put simply, we all need to dream.
Dreaming is an activity vital to both physical health as well as for the soul and spirit. God has created man with both a physical self and an inner person who is far more complex than just his or her physical reality. We are born with a desire for fulfillment and purpose in this earthly life. We are born dreamers. When we are raised in a healthy environment of nurture, encouragement and provision we are in a place where our dream life can be healthy and positive. When we are abused, discouraged and neglected our soulish life becomes injured and dysfunctional. Our dreams turn to nightmares. The original purpose for which we have been created is sidetracked till we find healing and unconditional love through Jesus Christ.
When we grow up or find later in life a community of faith, the dreams we have for ourselves find a soil in which they can grow to maturity. A dream is not a reality overnight. A dream has a long incubation period. Every dream is tested by time, by trial, by temptation and by treachery.
The first temptation for the dreamer is to prematurely share their vision, dreams and hopes with insecure and jealous people. What God is often calling us to is so uplifting and encouraging to us that it produces suspicion and jealousy in people who are insecure or hurt by their own failures. A wise dreamer holds their dream close to home while growing in maturity and taking steady steps in the direction of a dreams destination.
A dream from God however true and noble will be fulfilled ultimately in a process of ongoing personal maturity. We grow into our dream as opposed to inheriting it. The bigger the dream, the more personal struggle and adversity needed to shape us into our dreams. God fulfills his destiny in our lives by "working all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose (dream). (Romans 8:28) You see, God has a dream too. Our dreams need to conform to his will and purposes in our world. Ultimately, our destiny as dreamers needs to be wrapped around character and conformity to God..... "He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29) Personal ego and pride take our original purpose and distort it into an ugly visage of self worship.
To be drawn into the future with a God given dream life is a healthy and necessary part of a healthy life style. Parents and friends who want the best for those they love should be dream leaders ( i.e. much like cheer leaders) cheering on those they love in prayer, counsel, provision and encouragement. But alas, due to our own selfishness, unbelief and insecurity. we often hold back people who have expressed their dreams to us. Sometimes we want people to do 'what we want' or we fear the cost of failure and risk for those closest to us. Faith demands an element of risk..... and failure. When we discourage dreamers we inevitably ensure the destruction and weakening of faith itself.
So often in churches we find a generational disconnect from parent to child. We want our children to believe...but when we demand of them a lifestyle and direction that looks just like us, we kill the dream process and ensure a prodigal lifestyle. Running away from parents, church and institution just might be needed for a dream to be birthed in the next generation of risk takers....better known as believers.
Today, we need to release people to dream and experience a connection with God in a fresh revelation of his creativity and compassion for a broken world. Dreamers need freedom.....not constraint and control. Dreamers need unconditional love and space to fail forward in a broken world in need of change and transformation. Dreamers who are released unconditionally, have something we all desperately need in times of transition and change: The Future.
Jim
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