Visionary Dreaming

Last updated on: February 21, 2013 at 12:12 pm by John Pattison

Visionary Dreaming 2013-02-21T12:12:02-05:00 John Pattison

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Community is what doesn’t happen when we’re busy making bigger plans. That’s what came to mind as I re-read this passage from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic Life Together:

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first the accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

. . . we think we dare not be satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has given to others and we consider this lament to be pious. We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from him the little things. If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where this is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness and small faith and difficulty; if on the contrary we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from our expected, then we hinder God form letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches that are there for us us in Jesus Christ.

Previous Post

February 19, 2013

God Tabernacling in our Weakness

Next Post

February 21, 2013 Lenten Reading: Sermon on the Mount #3

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abundance Advent Books Community Conferences Conversations Ecology Economics Emergent Eucharist Family Food Gratitude Happenings Health history Hospitality Justice Lent Meditations Neighborhoods News Peace Place Poetry Politics Sabbath Scripture Stories Technology The Table Theology Uncategorized What is Slow Church? Youth

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 March 2016 June 2015 March 2015 February 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Gideon defeated the Midianites with an army of just 3,000 men.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE