A whack to the back of the knees and I am on my way!
The ski lift carries me and a newly made Asian friend on a long trip down the mountain after visiting a particular Buddhist shrine together. Such trips often provide wonderful opportunities to talk about the nature of goodness, beauty and truth--and eventually about God and the ultimate meaning of life. So, I take many of them.
On The Spot, On The Ski Lift
We find a lot to talk about during that almost hour long ride down hill. Mainly we talk about a dream she had recently that had been bothering her. I don’t recall the details now after a few years, but it seemed to me nothing that out of the ordinary. But, then she asked me if I could tell her what it means. She was looking for more than ideas, but really an interpretation that would make sense and provide meaning for her life.
I had never been asked about dreams so seriously, almost desperately, before. Not knowing what to say, I prayed silently and very fast for wisdom. I was honest with her and said that I couldn’t really interpret dreams, but if she told me more about it, I would do my best to help her find any meaning that I might surmise.
To my surprise, as she was telling me her dream, it reminded me of a biblical story in the Old Testament. I really wish I could remember, but it was just one of the more ordinary ones. So, I simply told her the Bible story it seemed to parallel and asked if she had heard the story before. She said no, but then wanted to more about the Bible story. So, I told it again in more detail.
She then asked the best question, “how does this relate to my life?” This was a perfect opportunity to explain how this story fit into God’s larger story of redemption in Jesus Christ. I talked further about how Jesus Christ has given my own life greater meaning, really its ultimate meaning.
Then I asked her what she thought, and if she thought this might be a good explanation of her dream. She thought so, definitely. However, she wanted to do some more thinking about whether she could or should entrust her life to Jesus Christ. At about that moment we landed at the bottom of the mountain. And we and some other friends would talk more later.
First Training In Dream Interpretation
A few others from our mission team were asked similar questions on the ski lift. This was the first day of a week of many dream interpretation questions. Dreams meant a lot to these people we were meeting.
It seemed that God was stirring their hearts about eternal concerns and bringing them to us. Regardless, they were so eager to talk, that if we didn’t talk through their dreams with them, they would find others who would, and likely they would be led astray.
So, we decided to train our team with a crash course in dream interpretation. This sounds ludicrous, and it really did seem so to us, as well. The joke was that my name was Daniel after all and it was time to live up to my name! Of course, his situation was entirely different, much more serious, and of far greater importance. What we were doing was nothing of the sort.
We simply taught our team to not be fearful but prayerful; and to ask good questions and listen well, and above all to be compassionate toward our new trusting friends. We instructed our team to be honest and not claim to really know how to interpret dreams.
However, we also taught them to be bold in talking about the Scriptures and the God wrote wrote them for us, for our salvation and our lives. So, they should listen for similar stories in the Bible they could tell, and then talk easily about their fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. They should wrap up the conversation by turning the dream back over to their friend to ponder in light of the biblical message they heard.
A lot happened that week. God opened up many more opportunities for His Gospel that we could never have planned. We were able to share with hundreds of people. And all together we witnessed 25 professions of faith and the beginnings of two new churches.
Be Prepared, You Might Be Asked Next
You too can interpret dreams. No, its clearly not the same type of work as the biblical Daniel. But, that is not what these dear people were asking for anyway, or many others who might approach you. So don’t freak out, just pray and then talk about the meaning of life from the Bible and from your experience with God.
Most often people simply want to hear about the meaning of life from someone who to them seems to have greater insight. Since you know God then you are the one who knows the meaning of life.
The ski lift carries me and a newly made Asian friend on a long trip down the mountain after visiting a particular Buddhist shrine together. Such trips often provide wonderful opportunities to talk about the nature of goodness, beauty and truth--and eventually about God and the ultimate meaning of life. So, I take many of them.
On The Spot, On The Ski Lift
We find a lot to talk about during that almost hour long ride down hill. Mainly we talk about a dream she had recently that had been bothering her. I don’t recall the details now after a few years, but it seemed to me nothing that out of the ordinary. But, then she asked me if I could tell her what it means. She was looking for more than ideas, but really an interpretation that would make sense and provide meaning for her life.
I had never been asked about dreams so seriously, almost desperately, before. Not knowing what to say, I prayed silently and very fast for wisdom. I was honest with her and said that I couldn’t really interpret dreams, but if she told me more about it, I would do my best to help her find any meaning that I might surmise.
To my surprise, as she was telling me her dream, it reminded me of a biblical story in the Old Testament. I really wish I could remember, but it was just one of the more ordinary ones. So, I simply told her the Bible story it seemed to parallel and asked if she had heard the story before. She said no, but then wanted to more about the Bible story. So, I told it again in more detail.
She then asked the best question, “how does this relate to my life?” This was a perfect opportunity to explain how this story fit into God’s larger story of redemption in Jesus Christ. I talked further about how Jesus Christ has given my own life greater meaning, really its ultimate meaning.
Then I asked her what she thought, and if she thought this might be a good explanation of her dream. She thought so, definitely. However, she wanted to do some more thinking about whether she could or should entrust her life to Jesus Christ. At about that moment we landed at the bottom of the mountain. And we and some other friends would talk more later.
First Training In Dream Interpretation
A few others from our mission team were asked similar questions on the ski lift. This was the first day of a week of many dream interpretation questions. Dreams meant a lot to these people we were meeting.
It seemed that God was stirring their hearts about eternal concerns and bringing them to us. Regardless, they were so eager to talk, that if we didn’t talk through their dreams with them, they would find others who would, and likely they would be led astray.
So, we decided to train our team with a crash course in dream interpretation. This sounds ludicrous, and it really did seem so to us, as well. The joke was that my name was Daniel after all and it was time to live up to my name! Of course, his situation was entirely different, much more serious, and of far greater importance. What we were doing was nothing of the sort.
We simply taught our team to not be fearful but prayerful; and to ask good questions and listen well, and above all to be compassionate toward our new trusting friends. We instructed our team to be honest and not claim to really know how to interpret dreams.
However, we also taught them to be bold in talking about the Scriptures and the God wrote wrote them for us, for our salvation and our lives. So, they should listen for similar stories in the Bible they could tell, and then talk easily about their fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. They should wrap up the conversation by turning the dream back over to their friend to ponder in light of the biblical message they heard.
A lot happened that week. God opened up many more opportunities for His Gospel that we could never have planned. We were able to share with hundreds of people. And all together we witnessed 25 professions of faith and the beginnings of two new churches.
Be Prepared, You Might Be Asked Next
You too can interpret dreams. No, its clearly not the same type of work as the biblical Daniel. But, that is not what these dear people were asking for anyway, or many others who might approach you. So don’t freak out, just pray and then talk about the meaning of life from the Bible and from your experience with God.
Most often people simply want to hear about the meaning of life from someone who to them seems to have greater insight. Since you know God then you are the one who knows the meaning of life.
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