I sat at the red light and stared at the bumper sticker in front of me. It was only one word, but it captivated me. Aspire. That’s all — not aspire to greatness or aspire to your dreams or aspire to achieve. Simply, aspire.
Inexplicably, it lifted my heart. For the remainder of the ride, my mind played with the word.
Aspire. An aspiration is different than a goal. It’s loftier, broader, beyond measure. Aspirations will eventually include goals if we hope to fulfill them, but aspirations supersede goals. If a goal fails, the aspiration may limp for a while, but it still lives.
Aspirations must live — they move us, motivate us, breathe life into us.
Aspire. Go higher. Desire more. Move upward. Rise from the rut. Focus. Aim. Fly. Soar. It is altogether fitting that Christians, of all people, aspire to that which is higher than us, beyond us.
- We have been rescued from the darkness we see and brought into a kingdom of light and glory {see Colossians 1:13}.
- We walk this earth, but we are seated in heavenly places {see Ephesians 2:6}.
- The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations is revealed to us and causes us to long for more {see Colossians 1:26}.
Aspire. The word challenged me. I suddenly wanted to clarify my aspirations and search to see if I had let go of any God-given aspirations. I found that I had. Somehow dirty dishes, the dilemmas of life, and the challenges of children can muddle aspirations. So can focusing on myself or allowing discouragement to hold me down.
Now, thanks to that bumper sticker, I wanted to re-identify my aspirations. So I did.
They were lofty, but aren’t they supposed to be? I aspire to be faithful, to encourage the discouraged, to publish (or better yet, to be published), to speak into my children’s lives, to add value to others, to show hospitality, to finish writing my Spiritual Boot Camp Curriculum, to increase my prayer time.
When the time is right and I sense the Holy Spirit’s nudge, I’ll attach goals to my aspirations but, for now, their idealism inspires me. They bring a smile to my face, a lightness to my step, and an awareness to my attitude.
They remind me that there is something more than what I see. There’s a higher plane than that of my day-to-day responsibilities. I can experience more than I now do and rise to greater heights. Knowing that Christ lives in me makes all the difference. It takes off the lid because anything, everything, is possible through Him.
How about you? Do you need to define or revisit your aspirations?
I leave you with one word. Think about it and let me know what you come up with: Aspire.
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