“Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on
purpose.” —Andy Stanley
Here are six areas that I regularly think about.
Six aspects of my life where I’ve written a clear dream statement as to the
outcome I want to achieve.
I’ll share
two areas today and come back with four tomorrow. So, let’s get started:
- My Relationship with God
This is essential for me. If
nothing else gets done, this has to get done. I don't say that out of some legalistic or religious sense of duty. I mean that I am absolutely and completely desperate for and dependent upon God. In fact, everything else flows
out of my relationship with God. My faith informs and affects every other area
of my life, especially the way I relate to and love other people.
If
nothing else gets done, this has to get done!
My dream statement for what I
want my relationship with God to look like actually comes from a passage in the
Bible that was written by a guy named Paul. Before being transformed by the love
of God, this dude was ruthless. He hated this new, radical group of Jesus
followers and was doing everything possible to wipe them out.
He was ambitious, driven,
educated, knowledgeable, smart and talented. He had the total package. But the
dude didn’t actually know God until one day when God interrupted and crashed
into his well-planned out life! That day changed everything. Paul ultimately
became the greatest proponent of Christianity in history!
In a book he wrote called
Philippians, he describes his background, pedigree and a list of
accomplishments. But he looks at all and makes an incredible statement:
“…everything
I once thought I had going for me is
insignificant
— dog dung.
I’ve
dumped it all in the trash…” —Philippians 3:8
Talk about radical! Evidently,
this guy had found something…found someone…who was so compelling
that nothing else mattered.
So,
what was his goal? What was his passion? What was His life-defining dream? He
describes it in Philippians 3:10. I’ve
taken The Amplified Classic Translation and used it to form my own dream statement when It comes to my relationship with God.
“I want to know Jesus Christ.
I want to progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him…
I want to perceive, recognize and understand the wonders of His person more
strongly and clearly than ever… I want the power that flows from the reality of
His resurrection to flow through me, changing me from the inside out… I wanted
to be continually transformed and become more and more like Jesus…” —Paraphrased from the Amplified Classic Translation of
Philippians 3:10
“I
want to know Jesus Christ. I want to progressively become more deeply and
intimately acquainted with Him…”
That’s it! That’s what I long for my
relationship with God to look like.
- My Relationships with Family and Friends
I want to live such a life of authentic
integrity in my home, among my friends, around those who see me up close and
personal that they say, “That guy was the real deal. Perfect? Absolutely
not! But genuine? Real? Authentic? Compassionate? Caring? Loving? Kind?
Faithful? He sure went for it…”
…that those who know me best will respect me the most.
These two areas represent the two most important
things in my life. Everything that follows exists only for one of two
reasons: to glorify God or to somehow serve others.
Do you have a dream statement for these two
areas? Have you written something down? Give it try. Begin to review that
statement regularly. You’ll be surprised at the power of bringing all your
energies to bear in pursuit of a God-given dream!
I'll share the additional four in our next post. Until then, keep dreaming!
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