Monday, May 26, 2008

GETTING A LIFE 4: A COMPELLING VISION

"For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10).

There are two factors necessary for change: 1) A strong dissatisfaction with where you are now; 2) A compelling vision for the future. Without these you will always continue to be as you are. For Abraham, about whom the text was written, both of these factors came about because he believed God--because of his faith. On this earth, Abraham never found the city. Perhaps it might be that on this earth our vision for the future will never be realized, nevertheless, the sin is in not venturing, not trying. Our vision might have to be adjusted to reality--the city of God will never be seen on this fallen earth. That being said, it is also true that as a result of his vision, Abraham still had a wonderful and fulfilled life, becoming the father of those who have faith. In Heaven his vision is realized!

Living a rich life means that there is an old life that has to be walked away from! Even with a compelling vision, there will be misgivings about doing it! Do you suppose that Abraham had some misgivings about walking away from his life in Ur? I'm sure he did, but that is part of the territory--that is part of the price of leaving. It is a normal part of the human experience. One shouldn't view these misgivings as a sign of making a big mistake. Having misgivings is only a characteristic of the loss experience one has as a result of making a change.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That is a great post! Do you think that one of our problems we have with life is that we do not think of Heaven enough?

--Hawkeye Gold