Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Visionary thinking

My morning quiet time led me to reflect the importance of vision. Hybels (1994) offers 3 definition of vision as an important character quality.

Vision is
  1. a God-given ability to see posible solutions to the everyday problems of life;
  2. the ability to see beneath the surface of people's lives
  3. the ability to catch a glimpse of what God wants to do through your life if you dedicate yourself to Him. (Hybel, 1994, p.23)

Indeed, it was refreshing to study the biblical context of vision through the conversation of Jesus with the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-30. Questions that triggered me to think about my vision include:

  • Do I see myself obeying all of the commandments?
  • Am I willing to give up everything, i.e., my earthly possessions, to bless the poor and/or to submit to follow Christ as he beckoned with "Then come, follow me"?
  • At what cost?
  • Do I put my faith in God and fully surrender to the hope of "with God all things are possible" (Mat 19:26)?
  • Am I willing to be the last as Jesus reminded the disciples that the "many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first" (Mat 19:30)?
  • Does Jesus see me as a potential heir of the eternal life?
  • How do I honour God in the way I live my life?

Hybel provided an interesting analogy that if we fix our eyes on our problems, then its like spending our whole life spinning our wheels and cursing the mud. Conversely, if we cultivate vision and explore ways to deal with them, then "not only will you avert all sorts of discouragement, but you will also discover how much creativity and wisdom God wants to give his children who look to Him for help." (1994, p.23). Praise be to God for allowing us to come to Him and trust Him to open or close doors as we follow the vision He plants in us.

The promise that Jesus provided points towards a simple formula- Create the vision by claiming that all things are possible with God. Ask Him for wisdom and head out in faith.

Reference:

Hybel, B. (1994). Character: Who you are when no one's looking. England: InterVersity Press.