The other day I watched a video of my all-time favorite band. No it wasn’t one of their produced, polished videos. No, they were playing a high school assembly. They weren’t stars yet. They were just beginning. Don’t get me wrong, they were really pretty good, they had even recorded an album, but it was nothing compared to what they are now after 40 years of touring and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It led me to wonder… Did they know? Back then, playing for next to nothing, could they envision the arenas, the world tours, the rock star life they eventually got to live. I’m thinking yes.
There’s the story I’ve shared here before about Walt Disney’s widow at the opening of Walt Disney World. A well meaning supporter said, “If only Walt could have seen this.” Her response was priceless and perfectly in keeping with my theme today. She said, “He could see it, that’s why it’s here.”
We all start somewhere. There is an inciting incident, a dream, a vision something that starts us on the long and arduous journey to success. That vision is what sustains us in all those times when the distance between the dream and the goal seems painfully long. The Bible says, “Do not despise humble beginnings.” If that’s where you are today, rejoice. Remember the dream, remember why you do what you do and press on.
It’s been almost two decades since I got a vision for the arts in ministry. I’m nowhere near where I want to be, where I feel led to be and yet I get to speak all over the country and people read this blog all over the world. I’m so much further than I was when I started and it felt for all the world like I was the only one with this dream. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Be faithful because God is faithful.
The band I referenced at the beginning of this post is Rush. They’re not a Christian band but this line from their song Mission, is exactly what I am talking about. “A spirit with a vision is a dream With a mission.” (Check the rest of the lyrics below, if there was ever a song I wished I had written, it’s this one!) Let your God-given vision drive your mission. Humble beginnings become origin stories. They inspire the ones who come after to keep pushing the dream forward.
He who began a good work in you will carry it through to completion in the day of Christ Jesus.
AMOKArts 