Vision and Vocation The Importance and Value of God-given Vision "Come hither, I will shew thee..." Rev. 21:9. Once again in the course of its history the Church of God is found in a time of serious crisis as to its life and world-testimony. Not once, nor twice, has this occurred, but many times have conditions arisen which have raised the major questions as to its next phase or entire future. At such times there has always been one factor which has been decisive; that was, the presence or absence of God-given vision. Again and again, such vision has been, by its absence, the cause of calamity and disaster; or, by its presence, the turning point for good or ill, according to the attitude taken to it. God has many times reacted to either actual or threatening tragedy by the presentation of a new vision; new, so far as His people were concerned. We are now entering more and more deeply into a situation which threatens the life and testimony of the Church, and already in large areas of the world it is an actual and desperate reality. It is no hypothetical or imaginary situation, nor one of supposition, but there is a terrific drive from the unseen with a view to the engulfing of all that is of God and of His Christ. So the need of the hour is once again God-given vision. The value and importance of such vision is found in its various features. In the first place: God-given Vision is Something Concrete with God It is something which has existed with God in clear-cut definition in the eternal counsels from the beginning. It is not something abstract or nebulous, something that is what people term 'visionary' or mystical. It is quite definite, clear, and real in the mind and intention of God. God-given vision is not something subsequent to eventualities, an afterthought because of things having arisen unexpectedly; a kind of alternative to what God originally meant. It is not a substitute for His original plan. No, it is not an emergency expedient because of a situation unforeseen. God-given vision has its roots outside of time and circumstance, eventualities, contingencies, emergencies! All those things have been already taken account of, and have - so to speak - been swallowed up in the vision of God. To be brought into such vision is to be brought on to a ground of confidence and assurance when the sands seem to be sinking and everything giving way. This, surely, is of no little importance and value. Then again: God-given Vision Comprehends All Detail Things, whether they be good or whether they be evil, are not ends in themselves. They are either embodied in or overcome by the vision. Under the sovereign government of the Spirit of God all things are made to serve that purpose which is the substance of God's vision. That is just the significance of the words so familiar and so often used about all things working together for good (Rom. 8:28). But we so rarely see them in their setting, and stop short of the full import. We just say "All things work together for good..." and stop there. The context has two aspects. Lives wholly under the Holy Spirit's government are in view, and "his purpose" is governing. Unless these two things are implicit, all things do not work together for good! Given that being "called according to his purpose" we in response are lovers of God, then all things are the sphere of a sovereignty which makes them work together for good. Purpose governs all, and the purpose is the substance of God-given vision. It therefore requires a vision of God's purpose in greater fulness, not in part. The purpose comprehends all parts. No phase or part is an end in itself. One wheel of a machine has no adequate meaning in itself. There lacks a real motive if all the other parts are not in view. We must not be too obsessed or taken up with the part or phase. If we are, the whole becomes bound up with that phase, for us, and we see no more. This may put us completely out of commission if any one phase has served its purpose and God is moving on. Sufficient motive demands sufficient vision, and we must see much more than that which is immediately before our eyes. Then, further still: God-given Vision is Constantly Enlarging |
