I had never considered the difference, if any, between an ideal and a vision. I would not ordinarily place them together I suppose. When I think of something as an ideal, I think of the “best” that something could be, which I consider unrealistic or irrational. When I think of a vision of something, I think of the way something could be which was given or imparted from someone or somewhere else. A vision does not, in my mind, arise from within, but is given from someone else, shared. In my mind, I have the choice to accept or reject a vision.
These are not the dictionary definitions of these terms, but they are close. A vision does not require an external source, I just think of it that way. So, Chambers differentiates them by one having a moral inspiration. He says a vision has that moral element missing in an ideal. I suppose that may be true in a very narrow sense of both words. Used as they are today in business and other realms, vision seems now to have some sort of meaning beyond, or distanced from, moral.
Business seeks to come up with a “Vision Statement” in order to have some sort of direction. I don’t hear anyone seeking an “Ideal Statement” to guide themselves or others. But such statements of vision do not have to be moral in the sense that they are about right, wrong, good, evil, or even about God in any sense. A church might seek such a statement, but business rarely would. So, part of my understanding of vision is tainted from this use. But part is from experience with my Master.
Vision is something I have had at times, and each time, it has come from my Master. I never consider something from Him as an ideal. An ideal has this sense of unobtainable perfection to it. But for me it also derives from within me and my ability to imagine. That is not a great source. A vision from my Master on the other hand has the element of attainability because it’s fruition depends on His involvement. Such a vision has a much better imagination and creativity as its source than any ideal.
So, I suppose I agree with Chambers here. I would not have put them together, and I would not have compared them otherwise. But I can see the need to do so. I held an ideal in ministry that did me in. I had unrealistic expectations which did not come from a vision from my Master. In fact, much of the time I prayed for vision which did not come. My ideals fostered illusions about people, and the process of being “disillusioned” was a painful one. That is part of what caused my crushing depression after ministry. The loss of illusions was a necessary part of my spiritual growth, but harsh to experience. This process has been to demolish my ideals of my life with my Master. I have some still. When I recognize them for what they are, I can easily surrender them, remembering the pain the last ones caused. But recognizing them is not easy. I like to think they are all gone.
The work of my Master in me is not complete in this area, and perhaps today I will find another ideal lurking in the deep recesses of my mind. They are like faulty programming which keeps causing errors, but only when certain programs are run. I don’t use those much anymore, so I still have some to find. I guess the process is working patiently and submissively with my Master to “debug” my mind and heart. Perhaps He is really Pest Control exterminating bugs and rodents within me. Fumigation here I come, pardon the smell.
