The Holy scriptures teach that without a vision the people will surely perish. This speaks to how critical it is for people to have an idea where they are going. To have vision is to have purpose or direction. Without vision we find ourselves wandering and wandering people die in the wilderness. I shared with our congregation one Sunday morning that ministries die every year, because they lack vision, direction and purpose. I am a believer that repetition forms habits and habits develop the potential to cause visions to become reality. I make sure we keep our vision at a minimum on our lips by having the congregation recite it in unison each Sunday morning. You know why they know it? Because they have to speak it at least once a week. This ministry lives not simply because we have a vision, but more because we know our vision. And to say we know our vision is to say we know our purpose and direction. And because we know our vision, purpose and direction we make decisions that support our vision. Let me say it this way. We don't make decisions to just make decisions. We make decisions that support our vision, purpose and direction. In support of our vision we are moving under the theme of "It's DO Season." A theme of not looking for what we can get, but more of what we can DO!!!
Let’s look at the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7 and verse 12 "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” As with most things, there are two sides to this act of doing. The first portion of verse 12 says "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This says to me that before I do unto others, I should have vision, purpose and direction for myself first. Because whatever I do to them must line up with what I want done to myself.
The final portion of verse 12 says "This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." Let me break it down to food that even a baby can chew. Jesus is teaching that this do unto others concept is really a law that permeates throughout the entire bible. Let me test you on a couple of laws. What goes up... You reap... What goes around... You got it!!! What goes up, must come down. You reap, what you sow. What goes around, comes around. And here Jesus is trying his best to get us to think about what we do, because what we do to others is literally our way of communicating to God what we want done to us. Meaning that there comes a time when we might need to change what we do, even if we've be doing it the wrong way for generations!!!
Please allow me to share a story. There once lived on an island in the Pacific Ocean a tribe of people who had a peculiar tradition. The tradition was that when a man reached a certain age his son would take him up a certain mountain and throw his father over into a volcano. One day, a son who had a great relationship with his father, went to his dad and said, “Father, it’s time to go up to the mountain.” His father consented. As they started up the mountain and got half way, the father started crying. The son said, “Father, why are you crying? You know this is the tradition of our tribe.” The father replied, “Son, I’m not crying for myself. I am ready for my fate. I am crying for you, when the day comes and your son will be walking you up this same mountain to throw you into the volcano.” As they took a few more steps up the mountain, the son said, “Wait a minute, father. You have a major point. My time is coming. Father, let’s go back and meet with the tribe and change this tradition.
We must be agents of change against evil and not pass it on to another generation because what goes around comes around and Some Traditions Need Rethinking.