Dreams and aspirations

I enjoy ready the travel section of the Sydney Morning Herald. I enjoy hearing different experiences that people are having from around the world and seeing if I recognise places or airports as they are mentioned.

I especially like reading the travel letters in Saturday's paper. Some of the things that people complain about are in the hilarious / get-a grip-on-reality category ("we ran out of champagne half way through our flight - it was an absolute disaster") and there are also good news stories about airline and hotel staff going out of their way to be helpful and accommodating.

Today, one correspondent caught my eye. Michael Schokman was commenting on the paper's interest in reporting on the latest designs, fads and gadgets that are available to travellers who get to sit up the front of the plane, and there by definition are out of reach to the vast majority of us who sit in squashed seats counting down the hours and dreaming of that one time when an upgrade might come our way. (By the way, forget it, I fly a lot of miles, have some "status" as a frequent flyer, usually travel on my own, dress reasonable well and and well behaved, and have never once been upgraded... but I digress.)

Michael defends this publication and promotion of the impossible, saying "I would hope such an article would inspire children such as my 12-year-old son, who is made about planes, to maybe get a better education than his old man, work smarter, and one day do what I couldn't." (ie: fly first class)

Is that what we really want for our kids? For them to be able to fly first class? Surely there is more to life than that?

Jesus said "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

What do we dream about? What do we dream about for our kids? What do we communicate to our kids as our ambitions and our dreams for them?

Surely it is more than a good education, a good job and the ability to fly first class? We need to make our ambitions heavenly ambitions, and therefore have our dreams, investments and efforts reflect that heavenly calling.

The reality is, if we want our kids to understand a dream beyond the good job and the lavish lifestyle, we're going to have to be very intentional about communicating that, because that is what they get fed every hour of the day.

So let's dream, let's wonder, let's talk about what might / could be. But let's make the point of our dreaming lasting heavenly treasure.