Recently, I was watching the movie, Pretty Woman about a young lady who chases her dream to escape the streets of L.A. The beginning of the movie features a man who proclaims, “Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream? Some dreams come true, some don’t; but keep on dreamin’-this is Hollywood.”
We all dream, and those dreams come in all shapes and sizes. Some inspire us. Some frighten us, and others may just confuse us. Some people have big dreams that stretch across the sky. They have dreams that inspire others and some dreams change the world. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that all people might one day be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. People like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had dreams that revolutionized the way we access information and communicate with others.
I believe God has big dreams for our lives and you find examples that are well documented in the Bible. In the book of Genesis, God uses dreams and visions to change the course of lives and history. Jacob has a dream in which he sees a ladder that stretches from earth to heaven and at the top of the ladder is the Lord, God who reminds Jacob he is part of the promise of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 28:10-22). It is the promise by God to bless the Hebrew people with land and descendants. It is Jacob’s son, Joseph who will interpret the dreams of Egypt’s Pharaoh that change the course of history by predicting a great famine in the land of the fertile crescent (Gen. 41).
Sometimes God uses dreams to remind us, like Jacob, of who we are. In the book, “The Dream of You” by Jo Saxton, the author reminds us that we belong to God and God has big dreams for us. She uses scripture to make the point. In Ephesians, God says of you, “I am completely God’s masterpiece.” In 2 Corinthians, God reminds us, “We are completely a new creature.” God wants us never to forget we are each of us unique. He is proud of us and like all parents has hopes and dreams for us.
But God also gives us dreams, like Joseph, to make a difference in the world. Many of you have heard the story of how John Peters in 1951, preached a sermon at St. Luke’s that led to the formation of World Neighbors. Peters came back from war with a dream to do something to help the people of Southeast Asia who lived in extreme poverty. He said, “Loving God isn’t enough. We must also love our neighbor.” People heard that sermon and caught the vision of forming an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people around the world.
What’s your dream? If you listen and are open to it, God has a vision for your life. You just need to keep on dreamin’.
Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
