God has a great plan, a vision. And that vision includes you. Yes, it does, or you would not be here. You are special. You are different from anyone else. The great Creator God personally designed and made you that way. Therefore, you have a contribution to offer that no one else can make.

It is said that the difference between a chump and a champ is dedication, and dedication demands purpose, faith and vision-daily vision.

Having vision means being able to visualize. Visualizing is the beginning of fulfilled vision. When we think of an apple, we see it in our mind's eye.

Christians have vision and are able to dream the impossible dream. A man or woman of vision (of faith) fully believes the impossible dream is possible. I believe in this type of vision. How about you?

God's master plan

In God's master plan everyone is created with many things in common with everyone else. Yet each person is distinct from any other human being.

In God's sight you are not a washout. You are not a complete failure. You are not a hopeless sinner. God says you are worth having. You are worth loving. God's greatest physical creation is you.

Accept this fact: You have value and are not inferior to anyone. Different. Yes, wonderfully different. Remember, you are God's idea; and He never makes a mistake. You were not made to be exactly like any other person. But each of us was made for a purpose. God had a vision about you and has a vision for you. If you don't know God's present and ultimate vision for you personally, right now, let me share it with you.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17).

The apostle Paul summarizes God's will and vision for all humanity in a nutshell: ". . . God our Savior . . . desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

God, through His Son Jesus Christ, reveals the knowledge of truth Paul is referring to: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).

That is God's vision prepared and outlined for mankind, including you. It is the offering of, and the way to, eternal life in the kingdom of God: "That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:15). "They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God" (Luke 13:29).

Revealing! Exciting! Awesome!

But is such a thing really possible? Maybe you are skeptical. Well, so were some of Jesus' disciples. "But Jesus looked at them and said, `With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible'" (Mark 10:27). There's the answer. Jesus said all things are possible to him who really believes they are possible, and according to God's will.

In Acts 2:38-39, the apostle Peter outlines the process, the steps, to begin fulfilling God's vision for you. "Then Peter said to them, `Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

Christ then begins to live within you through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 3:16-17).

In the book of Romans, God continues to explain His personal vision for you, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11).

In subsequent verses He nails down in detail His ultimate purpose and vision for you: your magnificent destiny, why you were born. "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Romans 8:13-14).

Hard to believe, but true. Your destiny envisioned by the Creator God is to become His very own son or daughter. His child. His family, His heirs. Read on in Romans 8:16-17: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ . . ." There is not, nor can there be, a greater hope or destiny.

Are you being called?

Will you act to fulfill God's vision for you? Those called now are invited to be living examples of a better way, a richer and fuller life. You are called to the joy of sharing God's vision for mankind with others, called to be trendsetters in high moral values and conduct, in physical and spiritual integrity. You are called to leadership through service, called to sonship. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12).

The Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, does change lives, and for the better. Christians, bought and paid for by the death and blood of Christ, have been wonderfully invited by God to join Him in His vision for mankind. In baptism, we covenant with Him and fully dedicate our lives to His purpose for us.

In Matthew 20:26-28 Jesus said, "...But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

While still in this life, your opportunity is "by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1). Wherever you are, work every day to be the best person you can be, doing the best you can do with what you have to do with, to the glory of God.

Yes, this is your destiny, God's vision for you!