Zechariah 2:1-5 (ESV)

[1] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! [2] Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” [3] And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him [4] and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. [5] And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

Two ideas catch my attention in this passage. First, the city will be far greater than the man with the measuring line anticipated. Second, the city is far safer than any wall could guarantee. Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (Jn 14:12). How can anyone do greater works than Jesus? Well, part of the answer to that question is that when Jesus was on earth he was one man, but now that he is with the Father, his Spirit indwells and works through his entire church. One man could never have taken the gospel to the ends of the earth in a lifetime. His church “turned the world upside” (Acts 17:6).

Too often, as believers, our vision is too small. We see what is possible with man. God sees what is possible with God. Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Lk 18:27). He has commissioned us to make disciples. Too often we settle for survival. Too often we settle for preserving the culture of a generation. Too often we settle for hoping that a few will come in the door and find Jesus. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Our vision is too small.

Not only is our vision too small, but we are safer than we think. Part of the power of the early church was that they knew they had nothing to lose. Paul wrote, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ph’p 3:20). Earlier in that same letter he penned these words, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Ph’p 1:21). He had nothing to lose. He understood that his hope was not in this world. He understood that his safety did not depend on what man did to him.

Daniel and his friends understood that they had a hope that went beyond this life. That enabled them to face a fiery furnace and a den of lions. The Apostles understood that they were citizens and ambassadors of a heavenly kingdom. That enabled them to lay down their lives for the cause. I wonder if we really believe that, or just like to talk about it at funerals. Del Tackett, in the Truth Project, asks the question, “Do we really believe that what we believe is really real?” Do we?

Our vision is too small and our hope is too limited. Our eyes are locked on this world and we cannot see what God is really up to. It is not our goal to preserve our personal peace and affluence, our comfort and our culture. It is our goal to storm the gates of Hell with the Good News of Life. Our vision is too small and our hope is too limited. May we lift our eyes off this earth and see Jesus. We need a bigger vision because we serve a bigger God, and nothing can touch us that has not passed through his hands first.