Articles
Dreams
The mantra of Disney is “Dreams Come True.” Dreams – ideals - utopia, all seem so alluring. We want things to be as we dream.
A young girl dreams of her wedding day. A young man dreams of playing in the major leagues. Young married couples dream of their life as one long one romantic moment. Surely nobody has ever had the love they share.
But then, oops! Life happens. Those wedding dreams do not quite turn out as imagined. In order for the young man to play in the big leagues, he learns he must be able to hit. One day the honeymoon is over and the young man learns his sleeping beauty is really the wicked witch of the west. She learns her prince charming is really a croaking frog. It is so disappointing to learn that each other has faults never seen before they were married. Then along the way, while building their marriage and life, bad news comes or one passes away. That leaves a survivor. Wait! It is not supposed to be this way. But it happens. We ask, “How did this happen to me? Our love was so ideal and able to conquer anything we faced.”
As parents, when that little baby is born, we have such high aspirations for him/her. We have their life mapped out. But then they grow up and have their own personality and have different ideas about how they want their life to be. “No, That is not what we imagined or wanted for you. Listen to us” we cry.
A young man wants to preach the gospel. He begins with such fervor. He is so earnest and applies himself so diligently. He thinks all brethren will applaud him and encourage him. But then comes the crank who thinks it is his God-appointed task to give young preachers a hard time. He is good at it. The young man is crushed and becomes jaded toward all. It leave scars it will take him a lifetime to overcome. Some even decide the preaching life is not for them.
What has happened? Well, life is not fair. While we do not inherit the spiritual consequences of Adam’s sin, we do inherit sin in this world. That means we have an adversary and life is not fair.
Wait, do we really want life to be fair? Because that means we are judged by strict justice. You sin, you die. That is fair. It was not fair that Jesus, the just, died for the unjust--me and you. Grace is not fair. Grace is a gift. Jesus is that gift. We do not need or want fair. We need and cannot survive without grace.
So, the next time we begin to think about how life happens, remember God’s grace and smile. Because we did not deserve it. He offers it because He loved us so.
Rickie
