Rise Up!
I Was Thinking…
Who’d a thunk it? That’s a phrase I’ve heard throughout my life. I know it is not a favorite phrase of the sophisticated and the educated. It is a phrase for those who are looking for a creative way to convey surprise. It is a colloquial phrase for ‘who would have thought this could have ever happened?’ It is a phrase that expresses the arrival of something that was against the odds.
The Atlanta Falcons… ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ This week is Super Bowl week and the Atlanta Falcons are playing against the New England Patriots. Early in the season there was considerable uncertainty about whether or not the Falcons had hired the best possible coach. The media wondered “Should we fire the General Manager?” Their first game of the season was a loss to, of all teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And the Falcons would lose several more times to teams not only on the road but at home in the Georgia Dome. There were 100 to 1 odds against the Falcons being in the Super Bowl. Yet this Sunday…they will play in the coveted championship called ‘The Super Bowl’. ‘Who’d a thunk it?’
The unexpected does happen. As a matter of fact, most of faith is a ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ journey. I think that sometimes the reason Christians and the Church struggle is because we have turned faith into a “see it and then believe it” venture rather than a “believe it and then see it” venture. ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ that the blind could see and the lame could walk? ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ that Lazarus could see life again after four days in the tomb? ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ that Jesus would rise from the dead giving birth to Easter?
I’m asking myself and I invite you to join with me, “What do I believe these days?” Do I have to see it before I can believe it? Or could it be possible that I can believe it in order to see it?
During this Super Bowl week I am thrilled and stunned that the Atlanta Falcons are playing on the biggest stage in sports. ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ It is a good time for us to “Rise Up” and cheer for our home team. They just might win. If they do, we’ll all be saying to one another next week… ‘Who’d a thunk it…The Atlanta Falcons are Super Bowl Champions!”
Win or lose, I’d encourage us to put this kind of thinking into our faith journey. Our God is an all-powerful; all wise and all present God. Much can be accomplished by faith in such a God… ‘Who’d a thunk it?’
Always Thinking,
Terry
P.S. Rise Up!
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