Thursday, February 07, 2019

Hey, kids, you are wonderful! You can do anything! Follow your dreams! (Parish Magazine Item)


From The Rectory



I recently went to an excellent event, which shall remain nameless, where the many children present were told to follow their dreams. There was lots of “you’re all very special and marvellous” and “you can do anything you really want to do. Never give up!” You know the kind of thing.



And there is much in it, of course. I am all for being positive. There is a danger that we crush ambition. Perhaps as Brits we love to chop down a tall poppy. We fear anyone getting above themselves and being too big for their boots. So, yes, think big, kids! Dare to dream! Seek to fulfil all your marvellous potential. But from a Christian perspective we might say at least five quick things.



(1)  You are very wonderful and special



You are not just a wet chemical machine or a higher ape. In fact, you are made in the image of God. As such you are so so so loved. You are unique and brilliant and almost infinite in your depths and potential. You are almost like a god. Wow to you, times one million!  



(2)  But you are also weak and wicked



You are a fallen, broken god. You are so vulnerable and needy. Self-sufficiency is a dangerous illusion. But it is more than that. You don’t just mess up. There is bad as well as good in you. Some of your motives are crooked and… You have done and said and thought things you shouldn’t have done and failed to do things you should have done. And sometimes quite deliberately and knowingly. You are both more loved than you could dream but also more wicked than you really know or care to admit.



(3)  You should raise your sights and aim high



Yes, dream! C. S. Lewis once said that our problem is that we settle. Our dreams are not too big but too small. We are like kids making mud pies in a slum. We have not imagined what the beach might be like!



(4)  But you should not stop at aiming for fame and fortune – you should look even Higher!



Follow your dreams, but not just selfishly. Could you actually do good for others and for the world as well as doing what you really want to do? Sometimes you should do things you don’t want to do.



And your ultimate aim should be the glory of God. Your goal, your hope, is God Himself and his New Creation. Inventing a cure for cancer or the longer lasting lightbulb, by itself, would be too small a thing! You need a really big picture. The biggest. God. You are to know and love him. Don’t settle for anything less than the eternal and infinite. That is what you really really want and that for which you were made. Anything else will disappoint.



(5)  And ultimately all this will be sheer gift, not just hard graft



It is not, “try really really hard and you can do whatever you want”. Some of your dreams will fail.



But you can know God and be known by him. You can serve his kingdom and purposes and make a wonderful difference of eternal significance. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. But aim for anything less and you ultimately lose it all.



And all this is not because you’re so fab on your own. God made you. If you are a believer, he saved you in Christ. He empowers you. He will get you to glory. It is all gift – all the way down. So, receive his love and mercy. It is from that position of grace (“You are my child whom I love”, God says to you) that you are to take on the world. And in Jesus you can be sure of victory. Enjoy the adventure!

The Revd Marc Lloyd

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