Unity is a community of people who seek to…
Dream Big
All glory to God, who is able, through God’s mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or imagine.
-Ephesians 3:20
Over the next six weeks we will be exploring the six characteristics of Unity Presbyterian Church. Today we focus on the first characteristic: we dream big.
Let’s be honest here; it can be easy to maintain rather than dream. In our personal lives as well as our corporate identities, the safest thing to do is to maintain the status quo. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t dream too big.
I think God may have different plans for us.
God wants Christians to dream big. We are to live bold lives of love for God.
But here’s the catch: we are not responsible for coming up with the specific dream. Go ahead and read the words of Ephesians 3:20 one more time, slowly.
Did you go back and read it? Ok, good. Who does the imagining in this verse?
It’s not me or you; it’s God.
God is able to do more than we might ask or imagine.
God is the one who has great dreams for us and our church! Dreams that are bigger and greater than you or I could envision.
In this verse, God is the dreamer.
We get to work with God to accomplish what God dreams for our church.
Thankfully, God is also the doer.
Go ahead and read the verse again. Seriously–one more time!
Whose power is responsible for accomplishing the dream?
That’s right; it’s God once again.
Is is through God’s mighty power at work within us that the dreams of God are accomplished.
So if God does the dreaming and God does the doing, where does that leave us?
We can respond to this verse in two ways.
One–we can recognize God’s power in the world. I believe that’s why Paul begins this verse with the phrase “all glory to God.” It is God’s power at work in the world that makes any of this possible. All glory and power are God’s. Recognizing that is an important first step.
Second–we can refuse to live a self-limiting life.
There are times when we lower the expectations of what is possible because we take God out of the equation. We slowly forget what God is capable of. What if we, as a church, began to frame every conversation and decision by first wondering what God was capable of accomplishing?
Would you do me a favor? For one week, make this your prayer:
“God, please do infinitely more than I could ask or imagine through Unity Presbyterian Church.”
Then spend some time reflecting on the word infinite. That’s a lot greater than you or I could imagine!
Pastor Dana and I will be discussing a couple of deep questions of faith this Thursday at noon on Facebook Live. This will be our first installment of Thoughtful Thursdays. You can access it on the Unity Facebook page.
This Sunday Pastor Dana will continue our series on Experiencing God. We will also be treated to a rendition of “This is my Father’s World” by Bailey Beam.
“See” you on Sunday!
-Pastor David
