Dreams...

What is your dream? As you consider the days ahead, what is the one thing that you long to do? What is the thing that you find yourself thinking about most and every time that thought comes to mind, a smile appears on your face?

As I've spent much time with the Apostle Paul this past year through my study of Romans, considering not only what he said, but watching how he lived, I am inspired by Paul the 'dreamer.'

Many people have dreams, but the dream is often divorced from reality. Meaning, the dream has nothing to do with God's call on their life. For Paul, his dream was completely consistent with God's call on his life. Paul was set apart by God to be a voice of the Gospel to the Gentiles. He was called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to a people that believed God did not have Good News for them.

Paul spent much of his life and ministry East of Rome - preaching and proclaiming the Good News that salvation is found in Jesus and Jesus alone. Paul covered nearly 1,500 miles from Jerusalem to modern day Serbia preaching the Gospel of Jesus. Many churches were planted. Many men and women were equipped to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people around them. Paul was faithful to all the things that God had entrusted to him, but Paul had a dream, an ambition. Paul wanted to go West with the Gospel. He wanted to go to Spain. He wanted to go to the place and to the people where the Gospel had not gone before. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 15:20-21, 23-24 -

"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand... But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain."

Not only was Paul's dream consistent with God's call on his life, but Paul's dream was not about him, it was about God. His dream was God-centered. His dream involved serving others, not serving himself.

What is your dream? What is your ambition? What is the one thing that you long to do? Is your answer to that question consistent with God's call on your life? If not, that may be evidence that your dream is more about you and less about God and those around you. Some may argue that you're just not the 'dreaming type.' Well, you may not use that language, but the reality is that a 'dreamless Christian' is not reflecting the greatness, vastness and supremacy of God. I like how Charles Spurgeon once said: "God has great things in store for His people; they ought to have large expectations."

In many ways, Spurgeon echoes Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:20 - "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"

Bottom line, we cannot out ask God; we cannot out dream God as it were. Therefore, our asks, dreams and ambitions should reflect the vastness, goodness, kindness and generosity of God.

What is your Spain? For those of you who think it's too late to have a 'Spain' - to have a 'dream', then remember something C.S. Lewis once said and be encouraged: "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

For me, my 'Spain', my 'dream' is what God will do in, with and through GENESIS. My dream is that GENESIS would be used of God to plant dozens of churches in the Boston and Greater Boston area. My dream is that God would raise up countless men and women from within the GENESIS Community to be sent out to do that! My dream is that God would awaken New England to the Good News of the Gospel and that GENESIS would get to have a front row seat to seeing God at work in our midst.

I have no idea if Paul ever made it to Spain. I have no idea if I will ever get to see GENESIS be part of planting dozens of churches in the New England landscape. But one important thing that I've realized about the 'dream' is not so much the importance of accomplishing the dream, but more so that we are setting out and seeking to accomplish it. For many, the arrival is everything, but to God, it's more the journey that matters.

I'm not sure if this is how it will happen, but these are the words I would long to hear from God to me...

me: 'God this was the dream you gave me and I did not hit it perfectly.'

God: 'Michael, my son, yes, that was in my hands, but you traveled well... you traveled well."