Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Shooting For the Stars
God took Abraham outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Genesis 15:5).
If God took you out and showed you the stars, what would he say? Would he say what he said to Abraham? Would he say he’s going to give you children as numerous as the stars? We would be afraid to look up. Nobody wants that many children. Maybe the old woman in the shoe would be happy with this arrangement. But most of us would settle for our American average number of children—2.5. And Abraham only wanted one child. This would be plenty for him. So why did God tell Abraham that his descendents would be numerous as the stars?
Face it, God is a little on the extravagant side. He sees much greater possibilities. He sees many when we see few. And the curse of every life is to set limits. We limit our possibilities by saying, “I could never do that.” Humans want to settle. We want to set boundaries, which—in and of themselves—are not bad. But we can never set limits to God’s vision of possibilities for us. We can’t suppress his great love. But we try. We say, “I’m not worthy. You don’t know what I’ve done.” To say this is to believe we somehow control the way God responds to us, but we don’t. Ask the Prodigal Son.
God is the God of possibility. So don’t settle for a less stressful job, when God is offering you the job of your dreams. God isn’t bound by our limits. So open yourself to new possibilities. Hope for change. Ask yourself why you’re limiting yourself to a life of drudgery, to a job with no passion, to a faith that can’t believe for answers. Rethink your gloom. Rethink what isn’t working in your life. Be a little extravagant in your possibilities. Shoot for the stars! God does.
If God took you out and showed you the stars, what would he say? Would he say what he said to Abraham? Would he say he’s going to give you children as numerous as the stars? We would be afraid to look up. Nobody wants that many children. Maybe the old woman in the shoe would be happy with this arrangement. But most of us would settle for our American average number of children—2.5. And Abraham only wanted one child. This would be plenty for him. So why did God tell Abraham that his descendents would be numerous as the stars?
Face it, God is a little on the extravagant side. He sees much greater possibilities. He sees many when we see few. And the curse of every life is to set limits. We limit our possibilities by saying, “I could never do that.” Humans want to settle. We want to set boundaries, which—in and of themselves—are not bad. But we can never set limits to God’s vision of possibilities for us. We can’t suppress his great love. But we try. We say, “I’m not worthy. You don’t know what I’ve done.” To say this is to believe we somehow control the way God responds to us, but we don’t. Ask the Prodigal Son.
God is the God of possibility. So don’t settle for a less stressful job, when God is offering you the job of your dreams. God isn’t bound by our limits. So open yourself to new possibilities. Hope for change. Ask yourself why you’re limiting yourself to a life of drudgery, to a job with no passion, to a faith that can’t believe for answers. Rethink your gloom. Rethink what isn’t working in your life. Be a little extravagant in your possibilities. Shoot for the stars! God does.
