Vision

It is time to start dreaming.

Without a vision, the people perish.

One of the major problems in ourselves and our nation is that we have lost our vision. As one of the Greek philosophers said: "The ship that has no destination nevers comes to the right port."

Our nation, our churches, ourselves have lost their vision. For that reason we are lost in the wide sea of conflicting thought and opinion. There is no North Star to guide us. The moral compass of our life is spinning uncontrollably. We stay active on whatever ship we are on. There are decks to be cleaned, rope to be stored, sails to be taken care of---but in heart we know that our ships have no destination, that we are lost at sea, and we despair.

Even we who are Christians are like the apostles who were in boats when the storms came up and Jesus appeared to be calmly asleep at the front of the boat. We need direction and guidance. We have gone from teacher to teacher, from church to church, never being satisfied. We have been fed the stale crumbs of others, the warmed over words of God. We are promised God's presence at these churches, but instead find only man's presence. The warm campfires of yesterday are now only cold embers and God has moved on.

My prayer for this nation, for our churches, and for ourselves, is not that we will be bigger and richer and more prosperous organizations ---but that we will find the true presence of God.

I pray that we will regain God's vision for ourselves, our families, our jobs, our government, our nation and our world.

Even businesses have Vision Statements. I pray that we will have a vision for ourselves and for our neighbors.

The problem , of course, is always with ourselves. When I look into the mirror, I see the person responsible for the bad things in my life. I see the person who makes the bad choices. As the cartoon character Pogo said: "We are the enemy." I am my own worst enemy. I have made the choices and no one else.

God, grant me a vision of myself as I am in Your eyes and as You would have me to be. Help me to see myself as a loved child of God, sho was so valuable that you let Your only child die for me. Help me to see myself as a loving person with love to give to others. Help me to see myself as a person of light and hope in a dark and hopeless world. Help me to see myself as a good husband and father.

Grant us vision for ourselves so that we do not perish.