imagine all the people...

i've discovered this thing that i have with music. i find myself listening to my ipod and thoughts of God are stirring back and forth though the lyrics. so i thought i'd title this blog: "imagine all the people" after the famous song by John Lennon.

Now in this song, his heart is to see all the people free of war and living in peace and that the world would be in unity. He uses the word "imagine" to put a vision in his song of what he wants things to be like. Now, i'm not agreeing with this song in its entirety...but i do believe that this week i have had my own "imagine all the people" moment.

I think that God has refreshed my view of my life and the purpose that i am living for. When you think about the future there has to be a question of goals that you will be striving for. Everything you do will be based around this thing that you are running after in life. Well for me, I am running after God. I am a Christian first and last! I want to impact the world, not just in my words but in the way that i am living. So EVERYTHING is revolving around this life purpose of reaching the lost and impacting the whole world to step it up and live for God. This means that all the choices i make from now until marriage and from marriage to having kids and so on will be built around this life purpose of why i am walking on planet earth. My purpose is in God and everything I choose to do will be for His sake.

I've been thinking about what my dream world would look like. I've used the words "imagine all the people...." and i just throw in anything to finish that sentence of what i would love to see the whole world be like. Like, "imagine all the people worshipping Jesus at the cross. facedown, hands in the air...in full surrender." Mannnn. thats powerful. I mean if you even just imagined the people that you know worshipping God, let alone the whole stinking world! Just imagine every person you have ever met, seeking God in prayer each morning, meeting up with groups of other people to pray and grow, teaching the Word... imagine all the people...loving the way God loves, in mercy and forgiveness, not self-seeking but giving TRUE love, real love... imagine.

well that could be hours of thinking in itself! But on Sunday morning we sang a song in church service that I think depicts what I want the world to be like and this song just made me be in tears because this is what i want to see and this is why i am breathing every morning and why i am doing what i am doing: "we wanna see Jesus lifted high, a banner that flies across this land, that all men might see the truth and know, JESUS is the way to heaven!"

now this song is fun and we are jamming out to it at church and its great... but ive been thinking about these lyrics and imagining this and what it would be like! Think about it! I want to see Jesus lifted high, everywhere. Not that Jesus is just some guy, but that HE IS THE WAY TO HEAVEN. That all people would see the truth and know that Jesus is the only way. I thought about the people I work with, specifically the owner of the company was on my heart. I thought about him just praising God, lifting up Jesus. I thought about my family and seeing them just lift up Jesus and talking about their relationship with Him and how awesome He is. I thought about cable television and how every channel would be directed some how someway at God. So yeah, there could still be like the Food Network and Discovery Channel...and even MTV! But MTV would be music television of God...and that all the reality tv shows would be about real people living for Jesus Christ! That all the talk shows would be about issues with Christianity and the Bible and "how-to's" on becoming a better Christian. I mean..how tight would this be!?!

Imagine all the people spitting out things about Jesus left and right. There are just as many Bibles on the shelves as there are gossip magazines. There is rush hour traffic on Sunday mornings because everyone has to make a morning commute to church! There has to be a traffic report on television and radio to get everyone to church on time! people are flooding churches and on monday you come to work and talk about God some more and about how great He is and all that He is speaking to you in your life

but its easy to imagine and then the struggle is the follow up with action and pursue the change we want to see in the world. The deal is that it has to start with me. I have to be the change I want to see. Then I need to go impact lives around me and so they can see the truth and lift up Jesus. But I have to do my part. Step by step, one day at a time, making an impact. If you impact even ONE life, you have impacted the world. So that's where I am...just step by step taking ground in every conversation, every moment, every aspect of my life. But as i'm doing this, it all goes back to this passion that I have to see the world lift up Jesus and give Him the glory. That is my purpose.

ahhh...thoughts. Imagine all the people...