We’re told to dream large. The world’s our oyster, and all the pearls inside are ours. Those statements mean to step past our boundaries. We need to go for that extra education, achieve that management position, and to accept that job overseas when it means an advancement in the company.
The Christian world tells us the same. We win two souls to Christ, and we’re told God wants us to win 20,000. We trust God for $200, and the visiting minister encourages us to claim $2 million.
In April of 2015, a Christian woman got a call from her cousin who had inherited four homes, then let all the money run through her fingers, and was now living in her son’s spare room. She was deciding on giving her last thousands to a television minister who had promised her God would multiply her money if she planted a seed in his ministry.
What she really wanted was a free return on the money she gave away, and that’s not the way it happens. God’s Word tells us so.
Look to Genesis, the 29th chapter. We read of Jacob, who desires with all his heart to marry Rachel, the beautiful daughter of Laban.
In 21st century America, we expect our Rachels to appear at our stoop with wedding bells attached, all ready to go. “Please, God—” and Poof! Like a magic genie, God grants our request.
Not so in the annals of the Bible, where God gives us example after example of the true cost of our dreams. Jacob agreed to serve Rachel’s father for seven years in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Notice the italics. Jacob knew he had to earn what he desired, and he went about it with his eyes open.
Laban tricked Jacob, giving him Rachel’s older sister for a bride on his wedding night. When the night was consummated, Jacob lambasted his father-in-law for the deceit, but in the end, he agreed to another seven years of servitude to earn Rachel’s hand.
What dreams do we have that we consider worth 14 years of our life? To become a doctor? We’ll be 30 before we make any money. An Olympic champion? Expect hours and weeks and months with sore muscles and the frustration that accompanies repeated competitions while we move up the ladder. To become a parent? Try morning sickness on for size, along with 12 hours of labor, thousands of diapers to change, and more sleepless nights than we can count.
There’s a price for our dreams. We can pray, and God will grant, but we have to crack open the oyster to get at the pearl. It took Jacob 14 years. What are we willing to give up to have everything we desire?
If we rub against a lamp, we might see a genie, but if we rub against God, we will see his truth in everything that surrounds us.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.E.11.15.vp