Last night I had a dream. It was a really good dream. Usually my dreams or nightmares occur in the "moderate" range. That is, my dreams are rarely ever so great that they don't have at least some negative elements in them, and my nightmares are hardly ever so scary that they can be described as horrifying.
But last night's dream was an exception. I dreamed that I was in my senior year at Washington Bible College, and I had just returned from an away game where I scored 26 points. (I think that in the dream we won the game, but it's interesting that the only thing I really recalled was my outstanding individual performance!) Upon returning to the school, I found my bride-to-be, Ruthie, sitting out in the picnic area (apparently it was early spring) with dozens of other students having dinner. She asked me how I did, after greeting me with a kiss. (Again, this could only happen in a dream, because students were not allowed to kiss on the WBC campus, so we would have never done this ... at least not out in the open!) I was more than happy to tell her. She along with everyone else was rather impressed. At that point I joined her and our friends at the table, and that's right when the dream ended.
Then I woke up. It's almost twenty years later. My basketball skills are yesterday's news. I haven't scored 26 points in the last two decades, but I have picked up 26 pounds. My right knee is arthritic and is constantly giving me grief. Two of my children have already beaten me legitimately in one type of basketball game or another.
Now normally I would have been depressed waking up to such hard, cold reality. But honestly I wasn't. Because whatever I've lost in the last 20 years or so has been far outweighed by what I've gained: a beautiful, godly wife ... five precious children ... seventeen years of full-time pastoral ministry ... the formation of many friendships ... and, by God's grace, a closer walk with Christ.
I couldn't help but think of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:16: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outward nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day." Amen! This body is slowly wasting away, but one day it will be better than it's ever been. And it's all because that when God saves a person, He doesn't do a half-way job. He redeems both the outside and the inside so that one day, faster than the wink of an eye, "this mortal body [will] put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:54), and all the thanks goes to God, "who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).
I'm looking forward to that Day. In the meantime, I'll work hard at taking care of both my soul and my body, getting both the spiritual and physical exercise I need to serve the Lord at an optimal level.
And, of course, I'll take those dreams as often as they come.
Hoops, anyone?
But last night's dream was an exception. I dreamed that I was in my senior year at Washington Bible College, and I had just returned from an away game where I scored 26 points. (I think that in the dream we won the game, but it's interesting that the only thing I really recalled was my outstanding individual performance!) Upon returning to the school, I found my bride-to-be, Ruthie, sitting out in the picnic area (apparently it was early spring) with dozens of other students having dinner. She asked me how I did, after greeting me with a kiss. (Again, this could only happen in a dream, because students were not allowed to kiss on the WBC campus, so we would have never done this ... at least not out in the open!) I was more than happy to tell her. She along with everyone else was rather impressed. At that point I joined her and our friends at the table, and that's right when the dream ended.
Then I woke up. It's almost twenty years later. My basketball skills are yesterday's news. I haven't scored 26 points in the last two decades, but I have picked up 26 pounds. My right knee is arthritic and is constantly giving me grief. Two of my children have already beaten me legitimately in one type of basketball game or another.
Now normally I would have been depressed waking up to such hard, cold reality. But honestly I wasn't. Because whatever I've lost in the last 20 years or so has been far outweighed by what I've gained: a beautiful, godly wife ... five precious children ... seventeen years of full-time pastoral ministry ... the formation of many friendships ... and, by God's grace, a closer walk with Christ.
I couldn't help but think of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:16: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outward nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day." Amen! This body is slowly wasting away, but one day it will be better than it's ever been. And it's all because that when God saves a person, He doesn't do a half-way job. He redeems both the outside and the inside so that one day, faster than the wink of an eye, "this mortal body [will] put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:54), and all the thanks goes to God, "who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).
I'm looking forward to that Day. In the meantime, I'll work hard at taking care of both my soul and my body, getting both the spiritual and physical exercise I need to serve the Lord at an optimal level.
And, of course, I'll take those dreams as often as they come.
Hoops, anyone?