Like an athlete or like an elephant?

God is able.


What does that mean? Or to be more articulate, what image or belief does that phrase draw up in us when we hear it? I think sometimes our faith may be enough, but it isn't very big. After all, Jesus said that we need only faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). But I think our faith sometimes imagines God as just barely able. We say that God is able, but we say it like it's going to be a difficult process, and that there's a chance, however small, that He might fail.


For instance, we imagine God more like an athlete in a competition than an elephant lifting a peanut. Let me explain. When you go to watch your favorite sports team, usually you go with some confidence that they will win. After all, your team is the best team, right? So you go with confidence that they will win, but throughout the game, you're on the edge of your seat, sweating and biting your nails, emotions running wild while you wait to see who will win. Because while you "know" that your team is going to win, you also know that there's a chance that they won't, and that makes you nervous. Now when we go to the zoo and see the elephants, and one goes to pick up a peanut and eat it, we don't gasp and lean in, waiting in nervous anticipation to see if the elephant can, in fact, lift the peanut.  No, that would be really weird, and I'm sure we would get some stares. When an elephant at the zoo goes to pick up a peanut, we watch in relaxation, knowing that the elephant has way more than enough strength to do so.


What if we had faith like that? What if we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God would do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)? What if, since our faith is the measure to which God's power will be displayed, we dared to imagine God as truly omnipotent, and asked for the impossible on a daily basis? What would our world look like?


I say we find out.