“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
The first thing that we have to do is determine what this text is about. Notice that it did not say “where there are no visions, the people perish.” The text is not about what we would call “seeing things.” This doesn’t mean that God’s people never have visions, because visions are recorded in the Bible. But that is not what this text is about. The NIV translates it, “where there is no revelation…” The ESV translates it, “where there is no prophetic vision…” In this case the word means “imaginative insight or foresight.” (New Webster’s Dictionary) We need a driving vision, insight or foresight, to effectively serve the Lord. What is the value of having a God-given vision? A God-given vision gives us a purpose for being alive. One of the worst things that can happen to a person, especially a Christian person, is to just drift through life without having a purpose. Successful people always have a purpose. There is an old saying that warns us to “be careful about aiming at nothing because we might hit it.” This is the way a lot of people, even Christians live their lives, and it is the way a lot of churches are as well. The scripture says that “where there is no vision, the people perish." Another translation is that “where there is no vision, the people lose restraint.” In other words, when we have no vision, we “are loose at both ends and flapping in the middle.” Consequently, if you have no vision, you do not have a real purpose and no aim. A God-given vision gives us determination to go forward in our purpose. Paul was a person with a vision. When we met Paul, he had a false vision, because he was persecuting Christians unmercifully. He held the cloaks of the people who stoned Stephen. When Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road and was saved, he was given a genuine vision. God’s stated vision for Paul was that he would witness and minister to Gentiles. Paul took this vision on with a vengeance. He started numerous churches in Asia Minor, Greece, etc. He witnessed to Jews as well, but his main vision was to win Gentiles to Christ. When we read about Paul in Acts, we read about a man who was determined to do what God wanted him to do. Paul did not aim at nothing, he aimed at ministry and witness to Gentiles, and he did an effective job of it. I can’t imagine that we can be effective in our Christian lives, if we do not have a vision that gives us a determination to do what Jesus wants us to do. What are you determined to do with your life? Does this determination have anything to do with Jesus and His purpose for your life? A God-given vision gives us the desire to persevere in our Christian lives. This would be especially difficult for a Christian who is involved in secular work. It is difficult enough for those of us who are in full-time Christian service, but Christians in secular work can get at cross purposes in their commitment to the Lord. For example, there are people today who are hostile to anyone who expresses Christian values. They have no understanding whatever of what it means to live the Christian life, to be involved in church and in Bible reading and prayer. Today, it really takes courage in some work places to persevere in Christian living. I do not mean to differentiate too much between Christians in secular work and people involved in what we call “church work.” It just seems to me that perseverance would be more difficult in a hostile environment. We who do “church work” can get our values twisted as well and fail to persevere in being the Christian witnesses that we should be. At any rate, all of us need a God-given vision if we wish to persevere in Christian living and Christian service. Keeping all of this in mind, what is your vision? What is your purpose? Are you determined to carry through in living for Jesus at your work, whether secular or church-related? Are you persevering in your vision? Think about it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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