A dream is spiritual aspiration. I have often been called a dreamer. My father was the first to label me so. That’s because he was a dreamer, too, and understood.
He understood that life would be hard, and that no one can get away from that truth. He understood that imagination and persistence is required. He understood the knocks of life, and afterwards, the joy that comes from achieving a dream. He understood experiencing the small hurts, and even the great pain called for, in exchange for something of greater importance. In other words, my father understood that life for each of us holds a Crucifixion.
So, do we have to lose to win?
Yes. Sometimes.
We cannot get away from personal suffering in this world. We are not infallible even if we sometimes believe we are. But there is purpose in it, something of greater importance. Out of our pains, sufferings, and sacrifices comes a victory. Perhaps it is not quite the dream we put our finger on, but even better.
To dream, to want, to aspire is part of our spiritual nature, given by God, and role-played for us by his son, Jesus Christ.
What did God want so much that He would allow his son to suffer crucifixion? He wanted to accomplish a spiritual purpose. Our redemption.
I am no disbeliever in spiritual purpose and no vague believer. I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This means that for me the meaning of life is centered in our redemption by Christ and what I see in the world, I see in its relation to that.–Flannery O’Connor
Flannery O’Connor wrote to her friend Louise Abbot saying; “What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.”
But it’s hard to accept a cross, much less carry it with hope. I don’t even like to think about it. This is where God’s grace comes in, allowing us to get through it and continue on.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
–Langston Hughes
Translating a World on the Edge 