What Would You Wish For?

1 Kings 3:5-12

Whenever my friends and I played the game 3 Wishes, invariably our last wish would always be for a more wishes. Depending on the stage of our life, the other wishes would include the ability to fly or be invisible, a new bike, to date the person we currently had a crush on, and maybe that promotion at work we were waiting for. But, without hesitation our final wish would always be for more wishes.

Now that I'm older I don't ask for more wishes, in fact I rarely wish at all. It isn't that I don't believe that wishes can come true, rather I want to believe that in some way I can do something to make my only hope come true: that all of humanity can live as one people under one love.

Wishes are a funny thing. They bring us hope. The help us hold on to the knowledge that maybe things will happen for the better. They reinforce the joy we need to feel in the moment we need to feel it. Of course, maybe that's because we never wish for anything bad to happen. In fact, most times when we wish for something it's to benefit ourselves materialistically.

As I get older I realize that wishing for my personal gain doesn't bring as much happiness as it used to. Maybe it's because I realize that it's not about me. While it's important I have the things I need to live comfortably, it's not important to live beyond my means. So a million dollars or a new bike really aren't what I need.

What I do need is the courage to get out of my comfort zone and do what needs to be done to stand up for justice. What I do need is the strength to wake up everyday with enough energy to live as God intended for me to live. What do I need is to better understand what Jesus' teachings mean to me.

What I would wish for, I suppose, is that I can somehow make a difference in someone's life that brings them closer in relationship with God, others, and themselves; a relationship filled with unconditional love.

And for my last wish...