VISION

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What is the vision for your preferred future? The need for a strong and compelling vision is key to most business successes as well as most church success. It’s a proven principle for personal success too. So, consider the art of vision with me
for a moment.

The story of the discovery of King Tut’s Tomb has always fascinated me. For many years Dr. Howard Carter—renown archeologist—dug in the Egyptian royal Valley of the Kings. During that time, he had an assistant, an aide, who had lost interest and passion for the project. The very day Dr. Cater uncovered the opening to the tomb the young aide had stayed back at camp and didn’t even come. He simply sent a message inquiring, “Do you see anything?” He missed out on one of the greatest discoveries of all time. Dr. Carter would work the next ten years removing, cataloging, and restoring the items from the tomb. Over 3000 objects! And all the aide could ask was, “Do you see anything?”

How many people miss out on amazing opportunities because they lack a vision for a strong and compelling future? This aide certainly missed it.

A well-known brain surgeon about to perform delicate surgery to remove a tumor from behind a woman’s eye socket asked her if she had a choice, would she prefer to lose her memory or her eye sight. Because of where the tumor was located, one or the other was under threat of being lost. She thought about it for a few days and then answered she’d prefer to lose her memory rather than sight. The surgeon asked her how she came to this conclusion and she answered, “I would rather see where I’m going than to remember where I’ve been.”

Back in early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy set a vision before America: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard . . .” Within that decade NASA succeeded in sending a rocket ship into space and set down on the surface of the moon. For the first time, man set foot on a celestial body other than earth.

Now, nearly 60 years later, America has a new dream . . . a new vision. NASA plans to send people to the planet Mars within this decade. Due to the orbits of both earth and Mars, that is only possible once every 2 years. It will take 8 months to get there, which means the people on Mars would have to wait nearly another 2 years before they could try to come back. Add another 8 months of travel; that means these people will be gone nearly four years. That’s a really long time on top of the reality that it’s a very complicated mission. The key thing is this: NASA has a mission plan. It may be expensive, difficult, and dangerous but they will not waver from their vision.

Now, let’s make this all personal. Where is your life in need of a compelling vision? Consider a married couple who are dreaming of a vacation. How much benefit do they receive talking about it together, planning together, setting a savings plan together, looking forward to it together, and then reaching their dreams together. First the vision, then the planning and dreaming together, and in the end, not only do
they end up in Maui, but they also benefit from all their time and effort spent together. A vision was turned into a reality and they had the joy of the entire journey.

There has to be an area in your life that could use a compelling vision and the joy of
chasing after something you’d really like to have.

Oh, and God’s vision for us? Heaven! Now catch the vision and go get it!

[Ron Otto, preaching minister of Lincoln Christian Church]

 

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