What if I told you that you could travel the world and get paid to do it?
To most people, the thought of that seems exciting and too good to be true. It almost sounds "unbelievable". What if I told you that you could travel to Europe, Asia or the Middle East and get paid for teaching English. That may still sound exciting and like a great adventure, but now there are more details. Now, we're not talking about traveling the "world." What if I told you that you could travel to South Korea and teach English in Ulsan for one year. You would be working in an elementary school Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. You will still get paid well and your housing and airfare is free. This may still appeal to you but it's now really specific and the excitement seems to fade even more.
What happened to traveling the world?
Why do I start with this example? Think about this. We all remember dreaming of what we wanted to be or what we wanted to see happen when we "grew up." We dreamed of changing the world, making tons of money, marrying the perfect guy or girl and having the perfect house. When we enter the working world, we do so with high ideals and great expectations. As time goes by, the excitement of those dreams, sometimes, fades away.
Why is that?
It seems to me, the more specifics we know about our future the less excited we get about it. We focus more on the details than on the big picture. Generally, people are more comfortable dreaming than thinking about the details. The big dream is great, but it's not what gets things done...in life or in ministry. Don't get me wrong. Big dreams are necessary and will eventually give us motivation, then results. But really, it takes faithful people in big cities and small towns to see great things accomplished.
Let's look at a faithful man born in a small town. He grew up in that same area and learned along with all of the other Jewish kids. At the age of 30, He began to travel around His home town and preach to everyday people. The number of His followers would increase, then decrease. At times, He would be ridiculed, then praised, but never would He let ridicule or praise change His mission. He was finally killed by those He came to help, yet He accomplished His task and touched the lives of the entire world. What a great example of how not to let our position, our location or other people keep us from taking steps to fulfill our "Big Dream."
We may feel, at times, like we aren't making a difference or we aren't living up to the dreams of the past. We can't let those feeling change our mission. We don't know how many lives we will eventually touch by touching the life of one person. Jesus focused on twelve and changed the future for millions. I believe our dreams are ever changing. Changing as we are molded into the image of Christ through people, circumstances and God's work in our lives.
To me "traveling the world and getting paid to do it" and "teaching English at an elementary school in Ulsan, South Korea" are the same thing because we are faithfully spreading the Word to those in our town. It's all a matter of perspective. Maybe they will one day reach millions.
Keep on Dreaming...then Keep on Doing...and give God the burden of the details!
This is my Bible study group. We meet on
Sunday afternoons.
