Do You See What I See?
Vision is a capacity to see things as they will be, not only as they are.
What is the vision for your life?
Is it to make it one more day? To get enough money to pay bills? Is it to get a relationship for security or just to get ahead?
You were meant to live for so much more.
The good-news, or gospel of the kingdom of God is the primary call of all believers. Our lives begin and end with the kingdom. Jesus’ message was the gospel of the kingdom.
Mark 1:14-15
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
And, Matthew 4:23 - “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
The gospel of the kingdom was the primary mandate of the disciples:
Matthew 10:7-8
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.“
It was the teaching of Jesus to the disciples for His final forty days with them:
Acts 1:3
“to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.“
I could go on and on. Do a search of “kingdom” in your New Testament and remember that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are synonyms. 114 times you will find talk of the kingdom.
If Jesus describes the kingdom as something that is worth giving everything else up for, why would we make plans without the pursuit of the kingdom in our center? What about doing that makes any sense?
As I often say, you can climb the ladder of success, but what if you get to the top and it is attached to the wrong wall?
Centering only the kingdom allows the grace of God to radiate into all other areas of our lives. Remember when Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you”? (Matthew 6:33) The sequence is simple.
Seek first the kingdom.
There is no second.
With the kingdom at the center of your planning, your pursuits, your goals, your resolutions, you begin to employ vision at a higher level. This form of vision will help you to see things you normally wouldn’t see, understand things you normally wouldn’t understand, go places you normally wouldn’t go, live in ways you normally would love and risk things you normally wouldn’t risk.
Vision moves you out of normal. Vision begins to ruin you for the ordinary.
Seek first the kingdom as you review this year and plan for next. Your vision will be upgraded!
Do you see what I see?
