Seasons of change open doors. A new year, the start of school, the first week of summer: whole cities shift their rhythms at these moments, and so can we. They are natural times to ask what kind of life we are building.
Jesus put it simply: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The devil is certainly a thief, but there are plenty of others: habits, fears, distractions and disappointments that try to rob us of the full life Jesus came to give.
You Are Qualified, but You Still Have to Get In
A big life does not start with self-improvement. It starts at the cross. You are not good enough to earn a big life, but if you belong to Jesus Christ, everything that qualifies you for one has already been provided through His finished work.
That does not mean there is nothing left to do. Even Paul could write, “in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24). The work is finished, and there is still work to be done.
Think of a lazy river at a water park. The current does the heavy lifting. It will carry you to every ride and every concession stand without wearing out your feet. But it will not carry you anywhere until you get in.
Here is the process to get into: dream, vision, execution and consistency.
Big Is a Spirit, Not a Size
Before the steps, a word about “big.” A big life is not about stature, fame or square footage. Big is a spirit. Big people think big, talk big, give big and love big. Small people rest on their laurels and keep talking about what they used to do, like Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite, still replaying the high school game he never got to finish.
Churches can do the same thing, turning into a hall of fame for the good old days. A church does not have to be large to be big. It can be a big little church, one that is big because it is growing big people.
Big people say, “I can do anything.” Small people say, “Nothing’s been done for me.”
Step One: Dream
For many people, especially men, “dream” sounds a little lofty. But a dream is simply the ideal model of your life, without regard for the requirements. It may be vivid, something you see, or visceral, something you feel. It can be wide and a little wild. Dreams require no feasibility.
Joseph dreamed, “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright” (Genesis 37:7). The fulfillment had nothing to do with grain. Joseph ended up governing Egypt. The dream did not spell out the details; it pointed to where his life was heading.
Some dreams are even bigger than one lifetime. David told Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God” (1 Chronicles 22:7). God gave that work to his son instead. Your dream may be meant to bless the generations after you.
Step Two: Vision
Vision is where many people get stuck, because they confuse it with something else. Churches often confuse vision with mission. “We want to love God” is a mission, not a vision. Vision is how you get to the thing, not the thing itself.
Picture driving from south Alabama to Orlando. You are not really driving to Orlando all at once. You drive to Pensacola, then Tallahassee, then Lake City, then onto I-4. Vision is the windshield. It shows you what needs to be accomplished next in pursuit of the dream, and it updates every time you make progress.
That is why vision has to be something you can actually see. It should make you reach, but it cannot be unreasonable. A student who dreams of becoming a doctor does not start by scrubbing in for surgery. The next step is good grades this semester.
The prophet Joel said, “your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). One way to hear it: the young still have time to put a plan to the dream. And in a sense, you get to decide which one you will be.
Step Three: Execution
At some point you have to leave the hypothetical and take action. Paul described ministry this way: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). God brought the growth, but Paul still had to show up in Corinth and plant.
Here is the hard truth: effort does not equal execution. You can stay busy for hours and still never do the thing that produces results. A salesperson who wants an extra $2,000 a month can spend all day organizing binders and feel productive, but the income comes from sales. There is no money in the binders.
You have to do the thing the thing requires. If what you are doing is not producing what you need, change what you are doing.
Step Four: Consistency
It is not enough to do the right thing. You have to do enough of the right thing for long enough. People quit diets after a week and workouts after a month. They make one phone call, hear one no, and decide it doesn’t work.
Building a big life usually takes more action, and costs more, than you think it will. Business writer Grant Cardone describes four levels of action: do nothing, retreat, take normal action, or take massive action. Most people settle for normal. Dreams are built on massive action, repeated over time. One way to picture it: work, work, work, get paid. Work, work, get paid. Then, eventually, work and get paid again and again.
Does that sound like works instead of grace? Not at all. It was grace that empowered Paul to labor the way he did. Grace does not cancel effort; it fuels it.
And keep God at the center as things grow. King Asa cried out, “Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you” (2 Chronicles 14:11), and God answered. But years later, when he had resources, “even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). Success should never replace dependence on God.
This applies far beyond money. If you have a child far from the Lord, it will take more than normal levels of prayer. Keep loving, keep believing and keep going to the secret place.
Write the Vision and Wait for It
God told the prophet Habakkuk, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2). And then, “If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).
The whole framework is right there: a vision written down and made plain, people running with it, and patience when it seems slow.
So here is some homework. If you don’t have a dream, take time to dream. If you have a dream, write down the vision. If you have a vision, start executing. And if you tried once and it didn’t work, try a hundred more times.
An incredible life is built on the finished work of Jesus Christ. He has already qualified you. Now get in.