Pastor's Ponderings, January 22, 2019

Fulfilling The Vision For Your Life

On January 21, 2019, we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King who received a vision for a life to come. In His Mountain Top Speech, he preached, “I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”

Dr. King could have lived a good life as a respected member of the clergy. He did not have to make waves; his inspirational sermons and brilliant homilies could have made him a leading member in the local society.  But he chose to fulfill the vision that God gave him and was assassinated for his beliefs. 

The Bible tells of another religious leader, Paul, who had a road to Damascus conversion.  He went from being a highly respected member of the religious community to being someone hated and marked for death.  At a trial for his life, Paul said he had decided to obey the vision from God (Acts 26:19).

In the book of Hebrews, many Christian patriots chose to disobey the Roman emperor, risk their lives, and live by their faith in Jesus because they saw their lives on a higher level. They had faith that God would fulfill His vision for them (Hebrews 11:13-17). God does not want us to live our lives in the mundane, mediocre, or middle of the road.  He wants us to live lives that reflect His greatness.  He came to earth so that we could have an abundant life (John 10:10b).

In life, perhaps one could have gotten by as a carpenter, but God wanted them to build skyscrapers. One could have been a rich pastor when God wanted their lives fulfilled as a missionary on a foreign field.  One may have done well as a well-known commercial artist when God wanted them to paint the next Mona Lisa. Should we continue getting by like we did in our previous years or should this year be life changing, powerful, and reflective of an extraordinary God?  

Just as Dr. King, Paul, and the Christian patriots saw that their lives could be extraordinary, we should go to God and ask Him what should we really be doing this year. Life does not have to be ordinary. Our lives can change ourselves and everything around us.  Let us fulfill God’s vision for our lives.

Acts 26:19
New International Version (NIV)

19“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.

Hebrews 11:13-17
New International Version (NIV)

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 

14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 

15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 

16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

John 10:10b
Amplified Bible (AMP)

10… I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].