One of my all time favorite cartoon strips is Calvin and Hobbes, the continuing saga of a little boy and his stuffed tiger. One of my all time favorite episodes shows Calvin telling Hobbes that he, Calvin, wishes for some really stupendous things. Hobbes responds that he wishes for a sandwich. Calvin then chastises Hobbes for not having any imagination. The last scene shows Hobbes eating a sandwich as he says, “Yeah, but I got my wish.”
The message is loud and clear. Be practical. Don’t be ridiculous when you set goals. Have a genuine sense of reality. Happiness comes with success and success can only happen if we are realistic. I am not happy when I hear people tell youth, “If you can dream it. You can do it.” That is just not so. Now that I have said that I am sure someone once told Barack Obama he was foolish to think he could be President. Yet I know I can dream of winning the Boston Marathon and that really is an impossibility.
Then there is Ephesians 3:20. “God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” * People outside the house of Jarius laughed when Jesus said the little girl was only sleeping. They knew when someone was dead. Yet a few minutes later she walked out to see and talk with them. Somehow we need to put all of this into perspective and realize that our dreams will be fulfilled but have to be saved for resurrection morning. See I Corinthians 15.
*The Message Paraphrase by E. Petersen
Written by Roger Bothwell on February 13, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574