But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My Name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Exodus 9:16

Almost all of us have dreams for the future, don't we?

Some of those dreams will become reality; some we will never see attained. Knowing that, I was fascinated to hear about the dream of a very successful man: Robert Woodruff.

Woodruff is not a household name, but the product he endorsed is.

Woodruff was president of Coca-Cola from 1923 to 1955, a 32-year span. His dream, which he stated immediately after World War II, was this: "In my lifetime I want everyone in the world to have tasted Coke." Nobody can say that he didn't shoot high in his aspirations.

But I wonder if wanting everyone in the world to taste colored, sugared, flavored water is the best thing to which a human being can aspire. Certainly there are people who have smaller goals, and there are more than a few who have no goals at all!

But that's not the way I, or you, ought to live our lives. It's not the way the Lord wishes us to pass our days which He has given to us.

He wants His people, in thanksgiving to His Son, to leave the world a better place than they found it. He wants them to exit this world having accomplished something. He wants them to share the story of salvation they have been given in Jesus.

How did the Lord say it? He said, "For this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My Name may be proclaimed in all the earth."

So, where does this short devotion lead? With all due respect to Robert Woodruff, might we not be forgiven if we were to modify his dream just a little? This seems an honorable motto: "In my lifetime, I want everyone in the world to meet the Savior. To that goal, I am willing, every day, to pray for one specific person who does not know Jesus."*

Now, that's a dream worth dreaming; that's a goal to which a Christian can work. Won't you join me?


From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"



THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to make it my goal to tell others about You and share the story of Jesus' sacrifice with them. May the Holy Spirit touch their hearts so they may repent and become one of Your saved children. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

*You need not have a specific name of an individual to agree to this idea. Just select a city -- any city on any map -- and pray for an unbeliever in that place whom the Lord knows and you do not.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 15-17    Colossians 2

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"