We have been created to dream by a loving God who dreams. When
I say dream, there is also a picture of vision in my mind in the concept. As
a kid I loved to daydream, to imagine or pretend if you will. I remember
days on the ranch of my grandmother where out in the fields there was
nothing to distract or inhibit those imaginations or dreams....From
becoming Superman with a simple towel for a cape, or the best
frontiersmen in the woods, I dreamt. And they were all glorious,
inspirational and captivating. They were the kind of dreams that you can
get lost in, much like a great book where time flies until you hear that
distant bell call from afar that signaled dinnertime on the ranch.

I believe we were called to dream by a God who has dreams.

Jer 29:11-13 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the
LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and
a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I
will listen to you. 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for
Me with all your heart. (NASB)

The word in the passage is plans...where do plans come from? They
come from ideas, imaginations and then you settle on a course of action.
When I consider that God has plans and dreams to fulfill, one of the first
things that come to mind is family.

God has a dream, plans, imaginations....for family.

There is well over 200 references to family in the bible; let’s look at a few of
them.

Psalm 22:27 (NASB95)
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all
the families of the nations will worship before You.

Psalm 96:7 (NASB95)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord
glory and strength.
Psalm 107:41 (NASB95)

41 But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, And
makes his families like a flock.

I like the story of a little boy who was asked if he believed in God. He
answered, “Well, yes I do.” When asked why, he said, “Well, I guess it just
runs in the family.”

I am sensing, the church is sensing, a move of God that is purposeful
toward the restoration of the family, the healing of the family structure, the
successful building of new family from the rubble of divorce, abuse, neglect
and contending against any attempt at redefinition of what family is.
And I am also dreaming. The way that God wants me to dream, and
wants you to dream along with Him. There are a lot more things that I
believe the bible illustrates about the dreams of God, so most likely I will
continue this for awhile. But I pose the same question to you that I have
asked myself. What causes me to stop dreaming, stop hoping? What are
the distractions in life that have captivated my attention? If I believe that
God has plans, vision and dreams, and I also believe that I’ve been created
in His image...then it’s time to dream again. To wake again to the
possibilities. After all, the bible says we have the mind of Christ...and in
having the mind of Christ....we should be people who dream!

1 Corinthians 2:16 (ESV) 16“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct
him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Pastor Jeff Ecklund