Letting go of your dreams? Come on, Pastor Joe—what kind of title is that? It sounds depressing, even un American. Dreams are a huge part of life; we all have them. We dream about what our lives could or should look like. We have national dreams shaped by political or moral beliefs, and personal dreams about financial security, physical health, relationships, family, and reputation. Some even preach a “prosperity gospel,” promising success and blessings if you follow Jesus. Consciously or not, we often treat our dreams as unspoken expectations of what a vibrant relationship with God should produce. They’re noble aspirations, and of course we add the obligatory, “If it’s what God wants”—but do we really mean it? What if following Jesus means some of these dreams never come to pass? What if we end up with none of them? Has God failed? Did we fail? Was following Jesus a bad decision? We’d never say that out loud, but usually we just back off from following a bit and chase those dreams more aggressively, quietly shifting our priorities while still talking and looking like we’re following Jesus. This week we study the passage where Jesus asks, “What does it profit if we gain the whole world, but lose our soul?
