Vision of Hope

The first of the year is a time that my former pastor always made a big deal about writing down "your vision". This is something that I did for years. But it is something that I always did wrong. Or at least now I see that I was doing it wrong. I was taught to write down all of my goals, be it a big fancy car, a nice house, or vacations to take. But you know what... those aren't the visions that were being referred to in Habakkuk. Habakkuk is another post altogether. This post is about how our goals should look. How should a Christian view their goals? Is it money? Is it power? Is it vacations? Is it something inward? If you think so, then my friend, you have it all wrong. Our vision should be outward. Our vision should be in helping others. Our vision should be for the lost. Our vision should be for the widow, the alien, and the fatherless. If you call yourself a Christian, then you can't go around hating others, no matter what they have done. Be it, they have entered this country illegally or killed your dog.

For a lot of people these are hopeless times. The economy is down, unemployment is up, the price of most things are up, and there is always the most depressing things on the news. But our hope is not in the economy, jobs, houses, or Barack Obama. Our hope is in Christ Jesus and the resurrection to life with God in heaven.

So my vision for this year is that, with God's help, my heart would soften to those in need.
My vision is that this year I would decrease and Christ increase in my life.

What's your vision?