I’ve been having some weird dreams lately. I go through
periods like this where I’ll have some bizarre dream—not a nightmare, but more
like a thought-provoking head-scratcher of a dream. When I’m under stress, for
example, I’ll usually have a consistent dream theme that I’m back in the
military, but in the dream I’m always trying to find all the parts of my
uniform (the brain tends to default to familiar past experiences when under
stress). Or I’ll have that dream where it’s finals week in college or seminary
and I suddenly realize that I didn’t go to a single class session for that
course, that I forgot to drop the class, and now, here I am, sitting with a
blue book in front of me trying to fake my way through it. That’s the
perfectionist nightmare! You’ve probably had similar dreams of your own.
dreaming. The Bible clearly tells us that this is the case—from Genesis we see
how Jacob and Joseph were dreamers, and even in the New Testament, Paul and
Peter were often driven by their dreams to engage certain people and places.
It’s hard to describe, and it may sound a little crazy, but I do think that
sometimes those dream, particularly the poignant ones, are one of the ways that
God gets our attention.
center way out in the boonies of rural Kentucky when I had one of these dreams.
The dream went something like this: I was watching TV with some others and, suddenly,
there on the screen was my name and an announcer saying, "Robert Alfred
Kaylor has one minute to call and claim this incredible prize." I didn't
know what the prize was and didn't even know I had entered the contest, but I
tried desperately to remember the phone number that had flashed across the
screen. I couldn't, so I spent that minute frantically typing numbers into my
cell phone, trying different combinations, asking the others if they remembered
the number…but no one did. After a minute, the announcer said, "Time is
up for Robert. Time to put another name up on the screen." I had lost my
chance to win a prize, even though I don't know what it was.
had missed out on something important. I had failed to get the prize, and even
though it was “just a dream” I had a hard time getting back to sleep.
Eventually I drifted off, but I woke up for good at 5:30 (my normal wake-up
time) and decided to head outside to take a walk and do my morning devotions.
bronze crucifix just down the hill where there was a little area to sit and
reflect. There’s something about a crucifix that’s just a stark reminder of
what the cross really means. I think we lose that sometimes in our
Protestantism with its bare crosses. I sat down and opened my devotional book
which directed me to the passage for that day, which was Philippians 3:13-14
what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
My dream had been a prize and now the Scriptures were about
another prize. Yeah, I think God was trying to tell me something.
that somehow I wanted it desperately. I’m thinking that maybe God was supplying
the answer in the morning. If you read this passage contextually, you see that
Paul names the prize that he was after a bit earlier in verse 10: "I want
to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing
in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain
to the resurrection from the dead." For Paul, the prize was not some
elusive material reward or cash bonus. The prize wasn’t a good grade or a
renewed status in life. For Paul, the prize was not a something but a Someone. It was about knowing Jesus, about being folded
into the life of Jesus, participating in his suffering, participating in the
cross, participating in new life through resurrection.
challenging. “Sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” is
more than a theological idea when you’re staring into the face of one who hangs
on a cross. Jesus had told his disciples that if they really wanted to follow
him, they were going to have to pick up their own cross (daily, says Luke)—to
be like him in his suffering for the redemption of the world.
Trappist monastery, where right outside the abbey is the monk’s cemetery with
its rows of crosses. Several times a day the monks walk past the place where
each of them will eventually be buried after a lifetime of service for Christ.
I wondered how they read this passage.
But when we understand it, we see that it is anything but. Paul is not
advocating a death wish here or resigning himself to a life of dismal suffering.
Instead, he sees his life in Christ as being a life of purpose. Go back to
verses 4-7 and you see Paul quoting his resume before he knew Christ—he was the
perfect, law-abiding, Pharisaic Jew. He had done everything right, passed every
test, never missed a final. But, says Paul, all of his accomplishments were now
“rubbish” compared to the goal and purpose of living for Jesus, being in
intimate relationship with Jesus, being associated for Jesus, even persecuted
for Jesus. Jesus’ mission had been the redemption of the world. For Paul, there
was no greater prize or purpose in life than joining Jesus in that mission, for
it was a mission that would do nothing less than change the world. It was this
mission, this prize, that put Paul on the road throughout the Roman world where
he did nothing but talk about Jesus to anyone who would listen (and even a few
who wouldn’t!).
was Jesus obedience to the point of death that enabled him to be exalted by
God. Jesus whole life was a journey toward the cross, toward the redemption of
the world, toward reconciling people to God through his own sacrifice. Paul
wanted to be part of that journey, to part of something worth giving his own
life for. That was the prize.
ask is “What is the meaning of my life?” People will search everywhere for
meaning, looking for it in things, in position, in power, in self-indulgence. I
realized that morning in front of the cross that I've spent much of my life
frantically trying to punch all the right buttons in order to achieve some
elusive prize – to prove that I'm worth something, to gain the status of a
winner and enjoy the material benefits thereof. Usually, though, I'm dialing
the wrong number. It occurred to me that I, and many others I meet, have become
exhausted from the stress of trying to find the right combination to success. I
wonder, too, how many people I have exhausted by trying to get them to give me the
combination!
temporary. If we want to invest in something eternal, we must invest our lives
in following Christ, who invites us into his mission and to follow him on a
journey to change the world forever.
our church—it’s “Join the Journey.” It’s an invitation. Paul cut loose
everything that he previously considered precious in order to follow Christ.
When we “join the journey,” we’re being invited to do the same—to see our
lives, our careers, our families, our finances as being subject to a larger
purpose, to expend our efforts in knowing Christ, knowing the power of his
cross and resurrection in our own lives, and then sharing that message with
others, inviting them to join the journey with us. The destination is not a
place, but a person—Jesus Christ. To know him, to be with him, to be like
him—that is a prize more precious than anything.
lightly. Following Jesus means that all that we are and all that we have are
acquired and used in obedience to him and to his purpose. It’s not an easy
road, but it is the only road to wholeness and purpose.
to join this journey—to think about your own relationship with Christ, to think
about how you can know him better, to think about how you might invest your
time, talent, and treasure in his purpose for the world. We’ve heard a lot
about Wall Street and Main Street these last couple of weeks, but the truth is
that both are dead ends when it comes to what’s really important. Only the road
we take in following Christ leads to life.
and you don’t want to have missed the class! We can’t skip out on our
relationship with Christ or our call to follow him without consequences. Being
in worship together regularly, engaging in personal and group study of the
Scriptures, developing a healthy habit of prayer, giving generously of our
resources of money, time, and talent—all of those things are foundational tests
of our faithfulness.
I believe that God has dreams for our church, but we will
only dream those same dreams when we’re actively seeking him. My prayer is that
this World Communion Sunday will be a new beginning, a first step on a new
journey of faith. Let us dream together!
