Releasing Dreams

Went for a bike ride today. Climbing an overpass I noticed ahead of me what looked like a photographer, with a large tripod, and oversized camera snapping pictures of the highway below. When I got closer I realized that the camera was actually a small boy, perched on a ledge, with dad serving as a sturdy support. Dad was pointing out all kinds of highway things to his son who was taking it all in. In some ways, the child was like a camera, snapping pictures that would help him remember an adventure with dad.

After I passed I realized that, for sure, my eyesight is getting worse but I was struck by the poignancy of the moment. Dad was doing what good dads do. He was creating memories, passing on information, and loving his child. In a small way, on this Sunday afternoon, dad was preparing his son for a time in the not too distant future to do the same with his own son.

At the same time I was watching and riding I was listening to my iod. It was a sermon given at Willow Creek Community Church. It was by Wayne Cordeiro, a pastor from Hawaii. He was talking about having people in our life who are ‘dream releasers’.

Just like God instills in a parents heart a desire to pass on what he knows to his son and daughter so to does God instill in our hearts a need to dream dreams. We suffer when they are not released.

Cordeiro talked about cemetaries. He says they’re full of unrealized potential and the shells of dreams that were never lived out. He wonders if our goal in life is to leave this world 'empty', leaving none of our potential behind. I think he's right. What if we all decided to leave nothing behind, no dream unexplored, no talent underutilized and no possibility unexplored? What would happen? To us. To those we meet. To those we love.

It occurs to me that Jesus wants us to be ‘dream releasers’. Jesus walked the highways and byways to release people from the sin that bound them and to release them to the possibilities of what life lived with ‘Him’ could be. By releasing them, he freed them. To dream. To live into their potential. To make a difference.

What if we’re supposed to be ‘dreamers’? And what if God wants to use us to help release the dreams of others?

Just like a father pointing out ‘stuff’ from high atop a highway so do we have an opportunity to ask the right question, give the gentle encouragement, to call forth the unrealized potential from every person we meet.

Every been around a ‘dream releaser’? Someone who calls forth the best of your life? Someone who challenges you out of the status quo and into God’s best? It’s incredible. It’s that coach who made you think no one could stop you. It’s the boss who gives you the big project because she believes you’re ready for it. It’s the pastor who asks you to teach because he senses something in the quality of your life. It’s anyone who gives us a chance to be more than what we thought we could be even though the deep desires of our hearts yearned for the opportunity.

Dream releasers are in short supply. It’s a shame. We need more of them. In a world that’s buckling down to just ‘get through it all’ we need dream releasers who are called forth to help us believe in possibilities again.

You see, if we don’t believe in the ‘dream’ we’re going to end up dying with all kinds of unrealized potential and possibility. What a waste. And how many wasted lives have you encountered? Be honest. Too many, right? Way too many.

God has us perched on the edge of the highway of His dream. He’s supporting us. He’s also pointing out all the comings and goings of humankind. He knows what He’s planted deep in our hearts. He’s calling it out. He’s pointing out where our life can intersect with someone else’s. He’s showing us the possibilities. He wants His dream to come true ...on earth as it is in heaven

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