We Need a Bigger Dream
Have you ever thought about what your life would have been like if your childhood ambitions came true? Maybe some of you really did become your answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My guess is most of us did not.
I did not become an award-winning Christian music recording artist.
I did not become an Olympian and the first female basketball player in the NBA.
I did not become a world-renowned brain surgeon. However, I don’t even like touching raw chicken so I’m OK with this outcome.
My guess is many of us had dreams of making our mark on the world in a recognized and celebrated way. And even though those delusions of grandeur faded into reality, I think we all still long for our lives to be significant. We want to matter in some way.
So as we continue our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, imagine with me again that you are sitting on that hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus begins to cast a vision for your life that is grander than anything you ever imagined in your childhood dreams.
But first, let’s remember who Jesus is talking to here. This is not a gathering of Forbes “30 under 30,” a collection of the brightest young entrepreneurs and rising leaders. Their faces do not grace the pages of People Magazine’s “Most Beautiful” issue. They aren’t even the leaders of Outreach Magazine’s “Fastest Growing Churches.”
These are nobodies.
The poor in spirit.
The meek.
The persecuted.
And Jesus has the audacity to say to them:
“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…” (Matthew 5:13-14, emphasis mine)
Did you catch that? Not, you are the salt of your neighborhood. Not, you are the light of your office building. In this ragtag collection of ordinary people, Jesus sees a community that will impact the whole world!
But we need to stop here for just a second. If that last sentence fires you up to go out and conquer, I want to invite you to pause for a moment of self-reflection. Sometimes I think we can have a good vision (changing the world for Jesus), but we charge into that vision with “kingdoms of this world” tactics.
Remember, the kingdoms of this world are ordered by power, success, and control. The kingdoms of this world are obsessed with winning.
Do you think as Jesus looked into the faces sitting before him on that Galilean hillside that he thought:
“To change the world, we need to capture seats of power in the government.”
“To change the world, we need to generate successful metrics.”
“To change the world, we need to outmaneuver the opposition and gain control.”
I don’t think so.
And yet sometimes, if we’re not careful, we can begin to think like that. And before we know it, we end up centering ourselves in the process.
Salt and light aren’t meant to be the center of attention. Salt and light are not the focus. You don’t eat salt straight from the shaker. You don’t turn on a light to stare at the bulb.
We salt our food so that the flavors already present come to life. We turn on lights to illuminate what is already there, making it visible to human perception.
Our role as salt and light is to reveal the presence of the King and the availability of his Kingdom. We impact the world not by becoming something great, but by making Jesus greatly known.
Author Skye Jethani writes:
“Forget the Caesars, and Herods, and Platos. The world doesn’t need more YouTube stars or social media celebrities…The world does not need more ambitious Christians. Rather, salt and light are the outcomes of ordinary lives lived in rich communion with God. Our world desperately needs more of those.” (What If Jesus Was Serious? p. 43)
Our world is in need of people who willingly de-center themselves to center Jesus. I think that means that in all the crazy situations we find ourselves in, rather than asking:
What do I think?
What do I want?
How do I get my way?
We ask:
“How can I help reveal Jesus and the upside down way of his Kingdom?”
Imagine with me for a moment that we could turn back the clock two years, and we, as the Kingdom community of Jesus, approached all the turmoil we’ve experienced through the filter of that question. Rather than looking to win the arguments, to impose our beliefs and preferences into each situation, what if we had aimed to sprinkle the salt of grace and shine the light of love into all the hard places?
Better yet, rather than look back, what if we determine to move forward as salt and light? What might happen?
I believe the world around us would start to say, “Whoa, something tastes different here, something looks different here.”
And they would “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)
For as we live as the salt of the earth, as we shine as the light of the world, Jesus is the one who will become known. He is the one who will be lifted up. And when that happens, the world begins to change.
Yes, like that ragtag group of people sitting on a Galilean hillside, most of our names will end up lost to history. But in the end, we will discover that our childhood dreams were way too small.
For we were made not to win accolades, trinkets, and trophies; but to “reign with Christ” (2 Timothy 2:12) in “a kingdom that can never be shaken.” (Hebrews 12:28)
So let’s put childish things behind us, and live for a bigger dream. Let’s make Jesus and his Kingdom known.
Subscribe to Tammy’s Blog
Recommended Resources on The Sermon on the Mount
What If Jesus Was Serious? - Skye Jethani
Short reflections on the Sermon complete with Skye’s own doodles and drawings. This isn’t a deep dive into the Sermon, but it is an insightful and enjoyable read.
The Story of God Bible Commentary - Sermon on the Mount - Scot McKnight
A readable commentary by one of the most respected contemporary New Testament scholars. This commentary series not only explains the text, but provides insights on how to live out the Sermon in day-to-day life.
The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God - Dallas Willard
A theological work that is about more than the Sermon, but uses the Sermon as the key text to helping us live the life Jesus intends for us to live. This is not an easy read, but is a classic in Christian spiritual formation literature.
The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing - Jonathan T. Pennington
A theological commentary that contains 130+ pages on overall themes of the Sermon before going into verse-by-verse commentary. I like how this author ties the Sermon into a vision for human flourishing.
