Greatest Fear [ ] Wildest Dreams

I like to think of myself as a pretty intelligent person. Not mathematical genius status like Mary there, but intelligent none the less. I make wise and logical choices for myself and my family. I can give advice to others that is practical and can help them reach their goals.

Knowledge is a funny thing though. It can only get us so far. Too often in life, we can believe with our whole hearts that we are doing the right thing. That our words and our actions are the best they can be. We can obey, follow the rules, and never upset the status quo. We work well with clear boundaries sometimes. Yet, as Christians, those who are seeking to LIVE Christ-centered lives, our lives should look a lot less “right” in the world’s eyes, because we are learning to live by faith.

Jesus broke down barriers, he crossed lines, disregarded tradition, threw away most conventional thinking about God and, as a result, change lives like no one else. They were not prepared for Him, and sometimes we aren’t either.

Because living a life of Faith is living in that that sliver of space between our greatest fears and our wildest dreams. Between living in regret and living beyond anything you could have imagined for ourselves. Between hiding and authenticity.

Our greatest fears…Our wildest dreams….. We are to live right here…in a life of faith.

Scripture, long before Jesus was even known on the earth, told us that this was what God intended.

61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. 

Isaiah 61: 1-3

In our prayer statement, we say the words “Learning to live Christ-centered lives.” Learning is the key word here.  As I talk about living a life of faith, we have to be careful that we aren’t just jumping off cliffs and asking God to catch us. Living a life of faith does require getting to know the character of God and being in tune to those ideas that are faithful versus the ideas that are just plain dumb. At Hope Church, our small groups are where that learning happens. Through theological thought and conversation, we gain a deeper understanding of what being faithful can look like, and if theological thought and conversation sounds too complicated. It’s getting together with a group of people and sharing life. and As we share life, we end up witnessing the faith of others, which can be the very best teacher. Anyone can tell you how to live a life of faith, can tell you the rules of life as they see them. but what makes a difference is when you see someone live it out.

In my faith life, as I strive to be more Christ-centered each day, I find myself not driven towards the logical and practical, but towards choices that make me, and those around me a little less comfortable. Choices that require faith. Choices that cause logic... everything in me to say, "Get as far away from this pain as possible. Run." Faith says, "Draw near. Get in the sliver of faith and see what God is doing here." It's not an accident that these choices have been put in my path, that these choices have entered my life. 

Coming out, quitting a job, adopting, moving in, moving on, speaking out, taking the next step requires some part of us to believe that we will not only survive, but that things may actually be better, freer, more hopeful on the other side.

Remaining hidden…Living in absolute authenticity. That takes faith to cross over from fear to hope.

Sharing the story of your deepest rejection or pain, making yourself vulnerable in order to educate another or encourage them. It doesn’t make sense. It requires faith.

Placing our hearts in front of others not knowing if they will remain intact or be broken…. finding your experience is an inspiration that saves another’s life. That takes faith.

Adopting a child from across town or around the world makes no sense. Taking a child into your home with someone else’s DNA and raising them as your flesh and blood requires faith. It disrupts your entire life, your entire family. It’s not logical. Your heart can be broken…. or you can change the trajectory of a human being’s life. We must live in that sliver of faith.

Interrupting our lives to help others, whether that means postponing your yard work to be available to a friend, being late to a lunch date to help someone change a tire, or even just stopping briefly to see if you can help a stranger on the street who looks lost or in distress.

The choices that we make out of faith are often the riskiest, most wonderful choices we will ever make. They make us second-guess ourselves. They require our whole hearts, and in the end, they turn out to be some of the choices that make our lives worth living. And if you haven’t gotten there yet, if you haven’t yet gotten to the hope and the joy…your wildest dreams, then it isn’t the end. Keep going.

Living a life of faith, whether that comes from a Messiah named Jesus or not, allows us to go beyond practicality and venture into the realm of the impossible. If we make our faith about facts and rules and requirements, we’ve missed the point. I venture to say that anyone who tells you they have it all figured out, or they know the one and only way, or that you have gone so far out of the boundaries that you are no longer acceptable, lovable or correct. They have missed what is incredible about faith. A life of faith is about hope, joy and possibility. It’s trusting that it might all just work out.

In Gifted, 7 year-old Mary is being raised by Uncle Frank in a dirty little cottage by the beach where he fixes boats for a living. We later find out that Frank gave up a career in academia in order to raise this little girl as he thought his sister would have wanted her raised. Now he may not have called his choice faithful, but in order to make that choice, he had to have some inkling that it might turn out alright. It might even be what is actually the best. That there was some possibility that his illogical choices may actually be correct.

There was opposition for sure. That is the part that makes us second-guess ourselves.  

To Mary’s wealthy grandmother, this simple life on the beach is a waste of little Mary’s life. To be fair, Mary is technically a genius, a mathematical prodigy, as is her wealthy grandmother, as was her mother. While her grandmother was unable to make history by solving one of the seven unsolved “Millennium Prize Problems” in her lifetime, she was sure that Mary, if trained properly, had what it took and should live a life devoted to mathematics. The grandmother sought to live her dream through this little girl, whereas Uncle Frank was willing to give up his own dreams in order to help Mary live into her own wildest dreams.

Heart-break causes us to second guess ourselves. Rejection by family, failed adoptions, being told we are wrong can all make us want to crawl back into the security of the lives that we are used to, the lives of logic and practicality, but what about our wildest dreams? What about our greatest hopes?

Intellect was big currency in little Mary’s family. Frank decided to give up everything comfortable and even risk his relationship with his family in order to change the currency to one of love and faith. He didn’t do this by teaching, he did this by living.

In the end, he finds a beautiful balance for Mary where her mathematical gifts continue to be developed while at the same time she is available to make crafts and play at the park with her girl scout troop after school. This balance, this well-rounded life that both honors Mary’s incredible gifts and yet assures her that life is about so much more than simply her gifts, is only found by being willing to venture into that sliver of faith between our greatest fears and our wildest dreams.

May the currency in our lives, the priorities, the values, reflect a life of love and hope that we might live into our wildest dreams.