Is an old Japanese proverb, “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” Many people daydream. They contemplate, but they do not do. These dreamers may talk big, but they accomplish nothing. Others go pell-mell forward through life not knowing where they are going. These are a danger to themselves and others because they are not looking ahead at the consequences of their actions. As the proverb says, the outcome can be a nightmare.
Vision is important. Solomon tells us that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, said, “Can there be anything worse than blindness? Oh yes…for the most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.”
What Helen Keller thought was pathetic the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel regarded as dangerous, and they condemned this characteristic in Israel. Jeremiah said, “Hear now this, 0 foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not;” and the word of God to Ezekiel adds, “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.” So those with no vision have been called pathetic, foolish, and rebellious. Let us hope that we do not fit this description
Do we have eyes? Do we see? Do we have a vision? Do we know where we want to go in life? Do we see clearly the path before us and can we visualize our destination? With our Bibles as our road map, we can chart our course Zionward. We should be full of the light of the truth, seeking first the kingdom of God and walking in the love of the Father.
Once we know where we want to go, we need to get up and get moving in that direction. Our vision must be followed up with action. Vision alone is useless, a daydream, as the proverb says.
What to do? First, thank God for the fact that we can have a vision of the kingdom; the kingdom should be our primary goal in life. If it is not our goal, then most certainly we will never reach it. Then let us open our Bibles and through the eye of faith visualize the glorious time soon to come when the Lord will return to set up his kingdom on this earth. We can read of the healing of the natural world, the plans for the temple, the solving of all of mankind’s problems. For example, Isaiah tells us, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains” when “he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths” and “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
With a vision, having our eyes fixed on our goal of the kingdom, now what are we to do? We need to chart our course to get there. Are our actions commensurate with our goal? What actions are we taking that move us along this path to the kingdom? After describing the vision of the kingdom, Isaiah then said to Israel, “Come, oh house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord ” To have eyes to see and then to do nothing is pathetic and foolish and even rebellious So with our sights on our goal we must get going James told us to be doers of the word and not hearers only
If we are kingdom bound, what are the activities that should engage our attention and time? Bible reading, yes! Fervent prayer, yes’ Faithful attendance at the meetings, yes! Visiting the sick and caring for those less fortunate, definitely The only picture we have of the judgment seat of Christ tells us about doing these kinds of things How can we have a vision and a goal of the kingdom, say we are followers of God, and then sit idle, doing nothing? We need to take up the yoke and with all our heart follow Jesus, living a life of active discipleship.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One