The Function of Dreams in Reality

Last week we talked about the illusive substance of our identity. In today’s blog I want to continue with that idea in a slightly different perspective. In a general recap, we are the realizers of our own destiny. I won’t say that we are the creators of our destiny, because we have not created ourselves nor the limit of potential we each posses. Within that defined gamut, however, we decide to what extent that potential will be realized, thus, we are the realizers of own destiny. Many factors play into what we “realize”, however, I have seen in my life that it is my own limit of what I dream that seems to be the most decisive factor.

I have had a lot of dreams in my day. As a child, I dreamed of everything. I wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a mom, and president of the United States. And I believed I could achieve any one or all of those things if I really wanted to. I could change a few blankets and pillows into a fortress complete with an alligator filled moat. I raised imaginary horses that followed me everywhere. There was no limit to my ability to create and to have real belief in the reality and credibility of my creations.

Then somewhere along the way I learned that just because I dreamed something didn’t mean it was likely to happen. And then a little farther along the way came the idea that the more I dreamed about something, the less likely it was to ever be achieved. I don’t think this is very uncommon. I learned a lot more about my strengths and weaknesses. I learned that it is in fact impossible to be a lawyer AND a doctor AND president of the United States AND a homemaker.

Interestingly enough, I’ve found that because I know that I cannot do everything that I have ever dreamed of doing in mortality, it has made me more and more eager to find what is my “calling” in life. Is there really something that only I was meant to do? If so, I’d rather do that one thing forever than anything else. But how can I find it? In the mean time, I’m trying to fill my time with the most useful activity I can, hoping it prepares me for whatever “thing” awaits me.   

The other day in my class we studied the apostle Peter. Actually, we studied just before he became an apostle. We focused on the account found in Luke chapter 5. Basically, Peter is a professional fisherman. He has a part in his father’s business, along with his brothers. He’s probably always known he was going to be a fisherman and trained with his father as a young boy in order to become a great fisherman, capable of taking over the family business. One morning, Peter comes in after a long night on the lake, having caught nothing. That must have felt really terrible. Imagine coming home from a bad day at work where you seemed to consistently fall short of what you knew you could achieve. As he pondered sleepily about what could have and should have gone better, he cleaned his nets before returning home. As he was cleaning, a stranger named Jesus comes up to him followed by a large group of people. Jesus requests that Peter bring him in Peter’s boat a little off shore so that Jesus can better teach the people. Seemingly without thinking, Peter obliges.

After the sermon, I’m sure Peter was touched by the words of Jesus. Surprisingly, Jesus tells Peter that it’s time to go fishing! Some preacher man is coming after a long, unsuccessful night, and telling Peter, the professional, how to do his job!

Peter protests a little, explaining how hard the previous night was and implying that there was no way that it could possibly better in the middle of the day, but then yields to what Jesus asked. They go out deep into the lake, let down the nets when Jesus says, and then pull in a catch so big that it breaks their nets and starts to sink the two boats that went out to pull in the fish.

This catch could have made Peter famous. It undoubtedly was worth several months of work. And yet, immediately following, Jesus looks at Peter and says “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

And Peter immediately left with Jesus.

The take away from I get is this. Our dreams are really goals. Goals are the future that we are committed to and think are possible. That means goals say a lot about our character and what is really important to us. Sometimes we have these goals that define us. As long as we are pursuing them we have some sort of identity, direction at least. What did it mean to Peter, then, when Jesus took away all those goals and threw them away? No more fishing, right? All those years gone.  

I guess the question is, what was riskier for Peter? Dropping his goals and letting Jesus make out of Him what He saw and was going to personally oversee, or in continuing fishing? And in the end, that question is the same for us. Continue in our dreams, or the dreams that Jesus has for us? Our goals, or His goals of what we can achieve?