I recently read Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie. I highly recommend it. One thought on page 191 got lodged in my brain:
"Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license."
I don't know why I love that so much, but it reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes. Mark Nepo said, "Birds don't need orinthologists to fly."
I'm not even sure what I'm trying to get at. Just thinking out loud. But if we really believe Ephesians 3:20 then shouldn't we think outside the box. We ought to dream God-sized dreams which usually come packaged as crazy ideas.
In 1877, the Methodists held their annual conference at Westfield College in Illinois. David Foster writes about it in his book Accept No Mediocre Life. The President of the college said, "I believe we are coming into a time of great inventions. For example, I believe men will fly through the air like birds." The bishop accused him of heresy! "The Bible says flight is reserved for the angels so we'll have no such talk here."
Some people use the Bible to explain why certain things can't happen. I think that's a gross misinterpretation. I think the Bible explains why anything can happen. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." "All things are possible." "God is able to immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."
For what it's worth, the bishop's name was Wright. He had two sons named Orville and Wilbur. They didn't have pilot licenses! But that didn't keep them from flying!
George Bernard Shaw said, "Some men see things as they are and ask, 'Why?' I dream of things that never were and ask, 'Why not'?"
I'm praying that God would raise up a Why Not Generation--a generation of dreamers that asks why not.
Why Not.
"Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license."
I don't know why I love that so much, but it reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes. Mark Nepo said, "Birds don't need orinthologists to fly."
I'm not even sure what I'm trying to get at. Just thinking out loud. But if we really believe Ephesians 3:20 then shouldn't we think outside the box. We ought to dream God-sized dreams which usually come packaged as crazy ideas.
In 1877, the Methodists held their annual conference at Westfield College in Illinois. David Foster writes about it in his book Accept No Mediocre Life. The President of the college said, "I believe we are coming into a time of great inventions. For example, I believe men will fly through the air like birds." The bishop accused him of heresy! "The Bible says flight is reserved for the angels so we'll have no such talk here."
Some people use the Bible to explain why certain things can't happen. I think that's a gross misinterpretation. I think the Bible explains why anything can happen. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." "All things are possible." "God is able to immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine."
For what it's worth, the bishop's name was Wright. He had two sons named Orville and Wilbur. They didn't have pilot licenses! But that didn't keep them from flying!
George Bernard Shaw said, "Some men see things as they are and ask, 'Why?' I dream of things that never were and ask, 'Why not'?"
I'm praying that God would raise up a Why Not Generation--a generation of dreamers that asks why not.
Why Not.
9 Comments:
"The Bible says flight is reserved for the angels so we'll have no such talk here."
Where does it say that in the Bible? Anyone?
Great question.
I had the same thought.
My guess is that it's one of those "false assumptions" we make.
By the way, isn't it going to be awesome to physically fly in heaven. I'm assuming our glorified bodies will be anti-gravity :)
Well the Bible mentions time and again about Birds in flight, so it made me wonder if I am missing something
I immediatly thought of two things the "tower of Babel" and "cloning".
"And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
So one answer to "Why Not?" would be if it is to "make a name for ourselves",
AS far as cloning is concerned they are saying "Why Not?" does the Church have an answer?
Last comment lost me a little :)
Obviously, if something is sinful or selfish then it's not God-ordained.
Building the tower of babel was a man-u-factured dream not a God-ordained dream. So God confused them :) Everything man-u-factured returns to dust.
We obviously need to know that our dreams are within the guardrails of God's will. But then we need to dream God-sized dreams. We need to ask "why not."
Dream On.
Man, I love this idea of being a "why not?" person. A Whynotter doesn't say, "what do I have to make this happen?" A Whynotter in God's kingdom says, "what do I have access to?" From a kingdom perspective it's that "the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to those who believe." I want to join the Why Not Club. Bill Johnson says "too many Christians are waiting for a command from God when God is waiting for a dream from them." To say "why not?" means accessing all that He makes available to us. Psamlm 16:2. - Heidi
I just finished a book called "Velvet Elvis". Has anyone read it?
-Carrie
Just read it Carrie. I absolutely loved it. Alot :)
Even love the title.
I loved the book too. It was definitely inspiring and uplifting.
I figured that after reading the explosive reviews (for and against)on amazon.com, that it was something I should check out ;). I wasn't dissapointed.
Come to find out, Rob Bell also has a "nooma" dvd series (www.nooma.com) and you can listen to his sermons at www.mhbcmi.org
-Carrie
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