Moments

I love the response to the statement, “Memory is stronger than vision.”  The insights have been wonderful.

Memory is stronger than vision, especially for many in the church.  But vision has the power to propel us forward.  While memory has the ability to keep us anchored, vision has the power to drive us.  Perhaps another way to put it, memory keeps us rooted, vision keeps us relevant.

Memories are a powerful force.  They can hold us in bondage and prevent us from moving forward.  “I remember the good old days.”  “We’ve never done it that way before.”  And memories can stop us from carrying out the great commission in effective and relevant ways.

But memories can also help us know the faithfulness of God.  He always keeps His promises.  As we read the prayers in the Bible, we see they constantly remind God of His faithfulness.   Our memory of God’s faithfulness gives us the desire to move toward His vision for our lives.

Vision keeps us looking forward to ways we can bring the gospel to our world in relevant ways.  Vision causes us to look ahead.  What is happening in our culture?  What trends are we moving toward?  How can we reach a new generation with hope of Jesus?  How can we show our culture that God’s word is just as relevant to our lives today as it was when it was first spoken?

Vision is the ability to plan based on memory.  We can continue to look backwards and never look ahead.  That is living in the past.  Or we can look at the past, see the event and circumstances that shaped our lives, and then use what we learned to cast a vision for the future.

We have a vision for First Trinity.  We have learned from our 170 year history.  We have seen the faithfulness of God.  We are rooted in His word.  But the message we have to bring is relevant to our times.  The challenge is t0 bring His truth to our world in relevant ways.  We want to transform our world, one life at a time, through the power of God’s living word.