I'm not erring on either side or saying that visionaries are better than non-visionaries or the other way around. I think both types of people are very effective in their own ways.
A visionary may have his or her future thought out and have a vision for what that is going to hopefully look like. He or she may have a dream for ministry and outreach that has been growing in their mind. They may have a good idea about a lot of things but not know what the day's schedule should be, or what he or she is going to eat for breakfast.
A non-visionary is going to have an idea about the day ahead and probably will have already eaten breakfast, knowing that there is work to be done that day. He or she may not know everything about the day, or what it is all going to entail, but they know that it is a day, and every day is different, and God has a plan for each day.
These two types of people are very different in their way of thinking. They go about tasks differently. They talk differently. They plan in opposite ways. They do ministry differently. They are radical opposites...I don't really need to go on, right? The names we use make it obvious: Visionary and NON-visionary.
Okay, now I want to make my point. I am not going to argue over whether one is better than the other or whether I am one or the other. It honestly doesn't matter! God has created us all to be unique and different. What I am going to try and get at here is vision in general.
When it comes to being human, which we all are, I hope, vision is something that drives us. Whether we are considered to be "visionary" or not. We as children of the Almighty need to have a vision. We need to have a goal, something to strive for.
When I say "vision", I'm not talking about some life changing, radical flash of lightning/boom bang that happens in the middle of the night or on your Damascus road. I'm not talking about the reason why your grandmother wears glasses.
I'm talking about something that is ordinary yet extraordinary. Simple yet complicated. Driving and compelling.
This "vision" I speak of has to do with your life and what you are going to do with it. Whether you are focusing on the day ahead or the year ahead, vision helps to bring clarity to those who are trying to walk the Narrow Way.
Vision has to do with what God is calling you to do with your life.
I can give you an example from scripture in just a moment.
Say a father wants to have a vision for his family and he is looking in scripture to find something that would point him to a more specific goal. He finds this verse:
"...May the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5-6
So....this verse can bring about a vision in a man's mind. It tells him that he must unify his family and with one accord glorify the Father. This is very basic, but this is vision. It is a starting point. From this point one can grow into a more specific vision. There are other aspects of this that lead to a greater fuller vision for a family.
I hope I am not completely confusing you all! I am trying to bring about a realization that this generation lacks vision. So often people are living in the here and now to please themselves. There are those who live in the here and now to praise the Lord, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what I see is people wandering here and there just doing the next thing. There is no hope in their calling. There is no drive in their step. There is nothing backing their search for true happiness other than selfishness and worthless hope in this world.
What are your motives? What are your goals? What drives you? What makes you happy?
Ask yourself these questions as you search your heart and determine whether you have vision, whether the vision is God-honoring, and whether there is a hope in what you are striving for.
If you are a parent, it is so important to have a family vision. When you have this vision it grows and develops over the years. Your children will feed into it and will be able to make decisions based off of this. Both mother and father will be on the same page knowing that they are running towards the same finish line. They can be unified in the way they plan, work and discipline, because they know they have the same goal.
If you are married without kids, it is good to pray about what God has for you as a couple. What vision does God want the two of you to have?
If you are single, it is the same. Ask God for a drive to have a goal, something that you can work towards for His glory. Whether you are on the college campus or in your parents home, you can find vision. While you are still at home, you can seek out the family vision and strive to fulfill the vision you father has for the family. If you are out on your own, look for opportunity to joint the vision of a church, fellowship, or group that has the same values as you do.
Please, hear what I am saying, not because I am saying it, but because this is a pressing issue. So many families are falling apart because they have no goal, nothing to throw their weight against as a unified team. When a family is not unified in vision the ropes that tie them together start to fray and split, causing more damage and a loose, dangerous hold.
I feel that I may have made my point, and I pray it is clear. You don't have to be a visionary to have a vision, and if you are a visionary, it still may prove to be a challenge to seek God for this vision.
Make it a priority to place in your life a goal. Bring yourself to a point where you have something to run hard after. And I'm not saying, "Go, do anything..." I'm speaking about a vision that brings about the glorification of God, not man.
In hope and Christ's Strength,
~Rachel
