Guiding Lights

by Peter Farley-Moore and James Handscombe

A few weeks ago I was walking on the heath and the lens in my glasses fell out, never to be seen again. For most of that day, my vision was severely impaired as I awaited my new set of specs. The irony was the previous day had been called “Vision Sunday” at St. John’s and we had spent the day thinking about the church’s vision for the year ahead. With no lens for one eye I suddenly realized how crucial vision is.

The source of our vision is often our own experiences – good and bad. In 2001, I decided to run the London marathon. Growing up in London, watching the marathon on TV and being a failure at sport in school had made it clear to me that completing the marathon was admirable but beyond my grasp. One day I saw that this needn’t be so and in that instant I gained a vision of myself staggering triumphantly across the finishing line.

Making the vision real took a lot of work. I had to find sponsorship to raise money for my charity and, of course, I needed to train. Targets helped me make progress to the goal, targets for how many miles I would run, how long it would take me and how much money I would raise. My decision, vision and effort resulted in support, encouragement and financial resources being brought together to make the vision a reality. Finally, some months later I crossed the finishing line, exhausted and sore but exhilarated.

John Maxwell wrote this about vision: "Vision starts within, it draws on your history, meets others’ needs and helps you gather resources." Vision can help sustain us when things are tough. Vision can help us to achieve amazing things. Vision is needed in our homes, schools, work places and community.

Vision is a very useful word for those who like to use twenty-first century management-speak but it’s not easy to define exactly what is meant when it’s used in this sense. Elsewhere in this publication different senses of the word are explored and, I hope, between them illuminate different aspects of this potentially difficult word.

Perhaps the most important sense is that of vision being a guiding light, a pole-star that leads one ever forwards through life’s journey. Navigating by the stars can be challenging: you have to look upwards as you look forwards, you have to find some way of making progress when clouds cover the sky and you have to pick the right star to follow. Some will lead you in spirals as they circle the sky but the pole-star will lead you safely home.

Easter gives us an opportunity to get vision. On the first Easter Day a group of ordinary men and women were transformed and surprised through their encounter with Jesus Christ raised from the dead. Something deep within their hearts was touched, their history and culture seemed to be brought into focus and their lives were turned outward towards the spiritual and practical needs of others. Suddenly it was clear to them what direction their lives should follow; suddenly they knew which star to navigate by.

This Easter Jesus stands at the door to our lives and knocks. In his hand he carries a lantern to light our way. The question asked of us is whether we will open the door to him, whether or not he can be our guiding light and whether we will allow him to provide our vision.

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