Johnny's Mother looked out the window and noticed him "playing church" with their cat . He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching to it. She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing so she ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the cat in a tub of water. She called out, "Johnny, stop that! The cat is afraid of water!" Johnny looked up at her and said, "He should have thought about that before he joined my church!
I’ve been sharing with you on the subject of VISION and how it can impact our lives and the lives of those around us. When I received this in an e-mail I couldn’t help but think of how much the vision that God gives us for ministry can be taken out of the context in which He originally intended. We try to take what God has given us and tailor it to what we want instead of allowing it to be a reflection of Him.
I want to bring out an important part of the clarity factor of God’s vision. It’s most important to note that when God gives us a vision, He intends us to be the facilitator of the vision. We think the vision is FOR US and ABOUT US, but that’s not why God gives us vision. The vision that God gives is one that will transform the lives of those around us. Every vision given in scripture always involved a life being changed that would then change lives. I’ve seen churches and people in ministry create atmospheres that made people clones or products of their environment. God intended the church and His vision to be a reflection of Him and Him only. God intended that we would be like His Son and changed by the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. Few people that you come in contact with will tell you how God CHANGED THEM through the ministry or church they attend. Instead they make statements that reflect, compliment or criticize the ministry itself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for church being exciting and challenging but the vision given by God should be a change agent. An exciting ministry is great, but what is it CHANGING in you?
We often abandon the vision for the sake of pleasing and accommodating those that were attracted to the vision in the first place. When people surround God's vision or a visionary, they were typically attracted to the initial conception of it and it's core principles. But over time it becomes watered down by the opinions of those we fear leaving if we don’t follow their advice or instruction. Our goal should never be to give in to the pressures of people or the pressure of ourselves over the vision of God. My prayer for all those in ministry is that God’s pure vision would be channeled through your life and that He would receive the glory for ALL that’s accomplished.
