What Great Dreams Are Made Of

In Matthew 6:22-23 I read, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (NIV)

I shape my dreams, and then my dreams shape me. If I don’t have a dream for my life, then I don’t have any definition for life.

So many people today are confused about their identity. In fact, our society is having a collective identity crisis. People are asking: “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What am I supposed to be doing?” “Does my life matter?” “What gives my life significance?” “Is there any reason for it all?” Those questions shape their dreams, and those dreams just feed into the identity confusion.

The only way to have a clear definition for my life is to have God’s dream for it. If I don’t, I won’t know who I am or who God wants me to be. I’ll always be asking myself these questions. I’ll doubt what I’m doing and why I’m doing it; I’ll wonder if what I do has any meaning.

My dreams define me—so I’ve got to make sure that I have the right dream! And the only way to know I have the right dream is to find out what God’s dream is for my life.

Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23 NIV).

When I have great vision, I see past what is in front of me to the long-term—even to eternity. A great dream is born of an eternal perspective and faith in God’s good plan for my life. A short vision will define a small dream. But a long vision will define an impactful, meaningful dream.

So, I need to choose my dream wisely. A dream based on God’s vision for my life will make a difference in how well I live out my purpose. And it will also point others to God and his plan, the only way to find fullness of life.

In summary, I shape my dreams, and then my dreams shape me. If I don’t have a dream, then I don’t have any definition for life. So many are confused about their identity. Questions shape their dreams, and those dreams just feed into the identity confusion. The only way to have a clear definition for my life is to have God’s dream for it. If I don’t, I won’t know who I am or who God wants me to be. I’ll always be asking myself these questions. I’ll doubt what I’m doing and why I’m doing it; I’ll wonder if what I do has any meaning. My dreams define me, I’ve got to make sure that I have the right dream! The only way to know is to find out what God’s dream is for my life.  When I have great vision, I see past what is in front of me to the long-term. A great dream is born of an eternal perspective and faith in God’s good plan for my life. So choose wisely. A dream based on God’s vision for my life will make a difference in how well I live out my purpose. It will also point others to God and his plan.

Spiritual vision is our capacity to see clearly what God wants us to do and to see the world from his point of view. But this spiritual insight can be easily clouded. Self-serving desires, interests, and goals block that vision. Serving God is the best way to restore it. A "healthy" eye is on that is fixed on God.