JT - no, you're not the only one that finds that difficult - i struggle with it often
e - i wouldn't disagree with you - i might even offer the idea that what we dream we are is the same thing as what God dreamed us up to be - something to think about
This is where I struggle and grapple with Eldredge. I know he would say that it's semantics, that when he says live your dreams he is also saying die to self, and live out the dreams God has placed in your true heart, i.e., die to your fears, your vain ambitions that come from some proud and ugly place inside you, die to the "message of the arrows" and live from the new heart God has given you. He has replaced your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh--if you have given up your claims to that stony organ. But it can be tough to know your motives and tough to search those things out. In the end, it's a matter for prayer. Sometimes for prayer and fasting and seeking wise counsel. But on some fundamental level, "dying to self" is just easier for me to see in the Bible than "follow your dreams."
I noticed "e" characterized you as "the dreamer." I used the same for myself in a paper once. But following dreams can be bad if you're following the wrong dreams. I could give many examples from lives not my own (in addition to my own). So ultimately, I want to see the dreamers--and I'm thinking here of a kindred spirit--submit their dreams to God and devote much prayer and fasting and whatever it takes.
I can tell you one thing, when you get down the road, 12 years of marriage, for example, it is very helpful to be able to look back at all the forks and know that you chose the path you did, not because it looked like the road to your dream coming true, but because after much prayer and soul-searching, you realized God was clearly calling you down the path you took--and on top of that, regardless of its appearance at the time, that path later proved to be the path to the fulfillment of your TRUE dreams. Hope that's not so poetic it makes no sense.
Anyway, there's my thoughts for the day. Way beyond what you expect in a comment, right? Maybe at this late date, no one else will read it.....
7 comments:
Them's words to live by. Thanks!
have you ever seen his film Bad Education? It's a love story about two transvestites who pull one over on the church.
"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions."
- Edgar Cayce
Unfortunately, Edgar Cayce was a fruit-cake psychic so the quote loses some credibility.
christa - i like it
willow - it is interesting, nothing i've really thought about - i just had it tucked away somewhere
blue - i don't even know who that guy is, just found that quote somewhere and liked it - the movie doesn't sound too good
morbid - eh, we can pretend that the guy was sane
JT - what journey?
JT - no, you're not the only one that finds that difficult - i struggle with it often
e - i wouldn't disagree with you - i might even offer the idea that what we dream we are is the same thing as what God dreamed us up to be - something to think about
One completely opposite, but accurate response might be: You are most authentic when you die to self.
This is where I struggle and grapple with Eldredge. I know he would say that it's semantics, that when he says live your dreams he is also saying die to self, and live out the dreams God has placed in your true heart, i.e., die to your fears, your vain ambitions that come from some proud and ugly place inside you, die to the "message of the arrows" and live from the new heart God has given you. He has replaced your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh--if you have given up your claims to that stony organ. But it can be tough to know your motives and tough to search those things out. In the end, it's a matter for prayer. Sometimes for prayer and fasting and seeking wise counsel. But on some fundamental level, "dying to self" is just easier for me to see in the Bible than "follow your dreams."
I noticed "e" characterized you as "the dreamer." I used the same for myself in a paper once. But following dreams can be bad if you're following the wrong dreams. I could give many examples from lives not my own (in addition to my own). So ultimately, I want to see the dreamers--and I'm thinking here of a kindred spirit--submit their dreams to God and devote much prayer and fasting and whatever it takes.
I can tell you one thing, when you get down the road, 12 years of marriage, for example, it is very helpful to be able to look back at all the forks and know that you chose the path you did, not because it looked like the road to your dream coming true, but because after much prayer and soul-searching, you realized God was clearly calling you down the path you took--and on top of that, regardless of its appearance at the time, that path later proved to be the path to the fulfillment of your TRUE dreams. Hope that's not so poetic it makes no sense.
Anyway, there's my thoughts for the day. Way beyond what you expect in a comment, right? Maybe at this late date, no one else will read it.....
Dream on, buddy. Dream on.
Post a Comment