Last night, I had a really strange dream where I was in my parents old home (haven't been there for almost 20 years). We were having a yard sale with all kind of amazing stuff - hybrid trucks, exercise spa machines and such. There was an amazing stone sculpture in the center of the circle drive and it was being sandblasted to reveal it's true beauty. Then out of the wood shop comes zombies. Yes, zombies. Usually
whenever anyone says - "oh let's watch a zombie movie", I run in the other direction. But for some reason, I wasn't afraid in my dream. In fact, I had a medicine packet that could restore the "zombies" to health! So in my dream, I was selling all the cool stuff ( except for the hybrid 4X4 - I told my parents i needed that to replace my old car) - and vaccinating the zombies as they came out of the dark places of the basement.
At one point in the dream I was walking about and there was a heaviness I was experiencing - someone shouted to me - "There's a zombie on your back!"
I grabbed my healing vial and injected it into the weighty zombie. The entire time I was unafraid and the angry zombie was restored to life and health.
Last night at the Kiln we discussed the idea truly loving each other, even the people we feel are impossible to love - kinda like zombies for me.
Ephesians 4:4
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
As Easter has just passed, many of us have been celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. In Acts 2 one of Jesus disciples, Peter addresses the crowd on behalf of the disciples. He discusses many things but stresses the fact that Jesus did not decay in the grave, even though he truly died.
(Acts 2:30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,[f] that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.)
Jesus had been raised to life and did not undergo decay. He did not (as my friend James said yesterday), "Come staggering out of the grave as some decomposing zombie!" Please forgive the image, but there is a good point to this.
God has overcome death. God held back the normal processes of death in regard to Jesus. Jesus was the vessel of God's picture of restoration for all of humanity. Jesus is our vaccine!
So on light of loving those we find impossible, in the strength of God - it is possible. Just like in my dream where a little zombie monster was on my back - I was able to reach out to a creature that intended me harm and give it what it needed for complete healing! In Jesus, we can grow up in our faith and take on the work that he started - restoring life, love and hope in a world that is longing for it!
So maybe it was the pizza before bed, or the fact that I was hung up on the zombie reference - but I find it interesting that in my dream I felt empowered to overcome obstacles that in real life seem impossible to deal with. I know that our dream state of mind is very different, but the lesson I come away with is that if we can grow up in our faith and seek to love those that seem impossible to care for - maybe their experience of love and healing begin with us taking the first step outside our comfort zones.
We better get our shoes on - "They're coming to get you....."
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