Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
I heard a story on the radio about a certain Bishop Milton Wright who lived in Ohio in the 19th century. He was apparently in a church meeting where another Bishop made the statement that “Everything that can be invented has been invented”. Milton stood up and said he disagreed. He said that he believed man would fly in the next 50 years. The other Bishop said that was sacrilegious and that only birds could fly. It turns out that Bishop Milton Wright was the father of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the pioneers of the airplane.
Now I’m a bit of a skeptic and like to fact-check such claims, and I was a little disappointed to find no support for that story. In fact, it is more likely that the quote about everything being invented already was first used as a joke in a 1899 edition of Punch Magazine, but nonetheless, it made me think of the concept of dreaming big and whether having huge, or possibly outlandish dreams can be something of God.
I read a report that tracked the odds of a US high school student athlete moving on and playing their respective sport in NCAA Division 1. Following is a selection of the percentage chance of boys making it to NCAA D1 in a few sports: Baseball (2.3%), Basketball (0.9%), Football (3.0%), Golf (1.4%), Soccer (0.9%), Swimming/Diving (2.5%), Tennis (0.7%), Track & Field (1.7%), Volleyball (0.8%). Here is a selection of the percentage chance of high school girls making it to NCAA D1: Basketball (1.2%), Golf (1.5%), Softball (2.0%), Soccer (2.4%), Swimming (3.1%), Tennis (0.6%) Track & Field (2.5%), Volleyball (1.2%). And of those male and female NCAA athletes, on average about 1% of those ever go on to play pro or compete at the Olympics.
So, is it foolish to dream to become a professional or Olympic athlete, or if you have a child with such a dream is it foolish to encourage them to pursue a 0.01% chance to make a career of their dream? From my experience (with one of our children defying the odds) there is no one right answer to that question. I believe in many circumstances it would be foolish, but in others not. Today’s scripture from Ephesians 3:20 (Living Bible) says: “[God]…is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of”.
When young Christians ask me for advice in pursuing a dream, I think it is only wise to spend time logically considering the odds and using our God-given wisdom to consider how wise this pursuit is, however I ultimately end each conversation the same way: “You need to hear from God”. That answer may come as you simply consider the wisdom of it, but it may come more specifically. If God intends for you to pursue a dream, it will be for his glory, and as you pursue it with excellence, he will make it happen. Most importantly, God is interested in you and your relationship with him, more so than the ultimate earthly goal. He is interested in the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 18-20). If he can use what he has placed on your heart for that purpose, then the odds are no longer relevant. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3). If we do that, God can do “immeasurably more than we can dream or imagine.” Dream on young men and women. Dream God’s dream for your life.
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