The Dream Of God
Maybe it's just me but, I've often felt a little uneasy about the hierarchical language used when scripture says the words, "The Kingdom of God is near." I mean, it makes sense when speaking to a culture entrenched within the ruling of the Roman Empire. But with today's discussion around empire and colonialism, is kingdom language still helpful or meaningful to what we are really meant to see drawing near?
This past week however, I heard this phrase voiced within a different language. What if what scripture is really wanting us to hear is that, "The Dream of God is near!"? Such a simple switch in translation and yet it seems to bring a renewing and refreshing vision to God's hopes for creation. Now instead of peoples imagination turning to authoritarian meanings, they rather find creative possibilities in the transformation of the world before them. Dreaming offers not only a shared relational experience, it gives a sense of participatory hope within the revelation. The feelings and emotions of "I have a dream" become more of a "we have a dream".
So, what does a dream world for those with disabilities look like? I wonder if this world drew near, how might I find myself in such a revelation?
In 'Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most', there is a recognition that waiting for our own expected idealisms to mystically reveal a path forward themselves leads only to the loss of our opportunity to experience the life we truly have. Volf and Croasmun write:
“Life is too expansive and messy to build a perfect, all-encompassing, impeccably coherent vision that we can then just put into practice, like building a Lego set from the instructions. It’s no good waiting until we have everything figured out before we get down to living because all that time spent waiting and figuring things out is already time spent living.”
— Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, et al.
I think in many cases, this is the first miss-step many of us who have disabilities due to injury take in seeking a life post trauma. We look for a cure rather than for healing. Using our original struggle with language, we want kingdom authority over our embodiment rather then the dream of who and what is drawing near to our lives.
To seek real revelation in disability, is to be open to the creative dream of what it means to be human. The dream of God is in recognizing we are a creature of embodied love capable of immeasurable possibilities before us. We discover a future not in certainty, but in the exciting journey of pushing forward into the unknowing struggle of a promising world before us. Using Volf's and Croasmun's words again:
“Life isn’t a series of crises calling for Heroic Moral Deeds. Most of the time, it’s a series of small, seemingly insignificant decisions and nondecisions. It’s made up of habits and assumptions and incremental changes. The shape of who we are and how we live isn’t like Stonehenge. It’s not made by stacking a few massive rocks on top of one another. It’s built up over time, brick by brick.”
— Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, et al.
I hear the words, "Get up and go your way. You have been healed." Now it is upon my willingness to seek a new path, with a renewed community, and an open world filled with innovative wonders. Come dream with me!