Vision is different from mission. While mission tells us why we exist and how we operate, vision answers the question: “What do we want to see?” Vision moves us from identity to action and outcome. It’s incredibly important for churches, families, businesses, and individuals to have both mission and vision written down somewhere accessible.
What Does It Mean to Be “A People”?
To be a people means being in community with others. It’s about fellowship and inviting others into that community. Being a people means having:
- Common allegiance
- Shared vision
- Similar motives
- Movement in the same direction
Think about a sports team – everyone must execute the same play. In a family, everyone moves forward because they’re on the same page with the same desires. As the church, our desires should align with what Jesus teaches.
In Matthew 23:23, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for neglecting “the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” As God’s people, we don’t get to pick and choose which of Jesus’ teachings we’ll follow. We are bound to all of them.
1 Peter 2:10 reminds us: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
What Binds Us Together as God’s People?
D.A. Carson explains it perfectly: “The church itself is not made up of natural friends. It is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together not because they form a natural coalition, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance.”
It’s not our love for the same sports team or our similar education that brings us together. It’s Jesus Christ. He is the common factor we all share. As Peter realized in Acts 10:34-35, “God does not show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
How Do We Abide in Christ?
John 15:4 tells us, “Remain in me and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”
Abiding is both an individual and corporate practice. We stay connected to Jesus so we can produce fruit and be the people He called us to be. It’s about finding our identity and desires in Him. Often, the issues we have with other people stem from not abiding in Christ – we’re trying to find our identity in something else.
What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus?
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Our job is simple: follow the risen Lord wherever He leads and trust Him for guidance.
Ruth 1:16-17 provides a beautiful example of this attitude: “Don’t plead with me to abandon you or return and not follow you, for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
Following When We Can’t See the Path
Hebrews 11:8 tells us, “By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out even though he did not know where he was going.”
Faith exists precisely because we can’t see everything. Faith and doubt exist simultaneously. Faith isn’t the absence of doubt – it’s trusting God enough to move forward despite our doubts. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but he knew God said “follow me,” and he responded, “I will go.”
How Do We Make Room for Jesus?
Revelation 3:20 says, “See, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”
Jesus is the Lord of all creation, yet He knocks because He wants you to invite Him in. Paul urges us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Don’t stifle the Spirit.” And Isaiah 43:19 reminds us that God is “about to do something new.”
If we are truly following Jesus, we will make room for:
- Jesus
- The Holy Spirit
- People
- The future
Making Room for God’s Unexpected Growth
Sometimes God plants things in our lives that we didn’t plan for. Like unexpected sunflowers growing in a carefully planned garden, God often does things that don’t fit into our narrative or plans.
We have a choice: we can pull out what looks like weeds, or we can wait and see what God is growing. How often do we uproot what God is trying to do and then get upset because we don’t see the beauty He intended?
How Do I Know I’m Hearing from God?
There are two primary ways to hear from God:
- The written Word (the Bible) – 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” If you want to hear from God, open your Bible.
- Learning to hear His voice – Jesus says, “My sheep know my voice.”
We often want complete illumination of our path, but God typically gives us just enough light for the next step. As Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet” – not a floodlight showing the entire journey.
The truth is, we usually only know with certainty that we heard God correctly in hindsight. That’s the faith part. But remember: God is big enough and smart enough to take our shortcomings into account. You won’t ruin His plans for the universe because you made a mistake.
A helpful analogy: Only moving ships can be steered. If we want God’s direction, we need to be in motion, trusting that He’s leading and we’re following.
Life Application
Our vision is to be a people who abide, follow, and make room for Jesus and the gospel. This week, consider these questions:
- Where am I finding my identity? Am I truly abiding in Christ, or am I seeking validation and purpose elsewhere?
- What is God asking me to follow Him into that seems uncertain or uncomfortable? Remember Abraham, who followed without knowing the destination.
- What “weeds” might actually be God planting something beautiful in my life? Is there something unexpected that I’ve been trying to remove that God might be using for His purposes?
- How can I better make room for Jesus in my daily life? Consider practical ways to invite Him into your routines, relationships, and decisions.
- Am I moving forward in faith, or am I stuck in the harbor waiting for complete certainty? Remember that God can only steer a moving ship.
This week, take one step of faith in an area where you’ve been hesitant. Trust that God is giving you enough light for the steps immediately ahead, and commit to being part of His people who abide, follow, and make room for Jesus.
Freedom in Truth 