Dream a little dream

"more than we can imagine...

according to His power"

Ephesians 3:20

I watched a movie today, about a Dreamer.  It got me to thinking about how important Dreamers are, and I started to wonder what the Bible says about them.  But Scripture doesn't say much about Dreamers, at least not in the way we use the word today.  When the Bible talks about people having dreams, they are almost always people who are receiving messages from God.  But when people today talk about a "dreamer," they are probably talking about someone who dreams while they are awake.  Someone who imagines what could be, or what they hope to be.

Sometimes, the word is used derogatorily; maybe to describe someone who can't seem to settle down and become a contributing member of society, or someone whose head is in the clouds.  But the truth is that those that we call "dreamers" are often the ones who improve our lives.  They are the ones with ideas, and the initiative to make those ideas a reality.  History is replete with stories of Dreamers.  Scientists, athletes, artists... It's a theme that forms the backbone of America.   While I do remember and acknowledge the many who came to this country by force, there are many, many more who came to America because they had a dream.   And I would venture a guess that most of the great accomplishments we can think of ~ in the U.S. or elsewhere ~ were accomplished by a Dreamer.

Sometimes Dreamers have ideas that are tangible goals, like landing on the moon, or finding a cure for cancer.  But other times, we are just dreaming of a better life for ourselves or those we love.   And how does God feel about that?  Well I think that God knew full well that many of His children would be Dreamers.  And I think He encouraged that.  Why else would He have told them about the Promised Land?  He wanted them to hope for it, dream about it, and strive for it.

The Bible doesn't talk about dreaming, except those nighttime visions.  But there are plenty of uses of the words "imagine" and "hope".  And I think those are the essence of a dream in our use of the word ~ a belief that better exists, and that it really can be.

If you're a Dreamer, you're in good company.  If you hope and imagine for something better, then you stand alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela; Joseph, Abraham, Joshua, Jesus' disciples, and even the criminal on the cross next to Jesus.   If you're a dreamer, then you simply refuse to lose the faith that God has a plan for you.

And if you're not a Dreamer... if you're a realist, or a pragmatist, or level-headed...  then I hope you love a Dreamer.

~ "He is able to do immeasurably more 

than all we could ask or imagine

according to His power that is at work within us" ~

Ephesians 3:20