UnOrthodox

I love fairy tales. Actually, I love all stories that have some sort of fantastic element to them. The best ones, to me though, are the ones that seem very realistic only to have this incredible, sci-fi twist in them.

So I'm reading this new book (Actually it's a really REALLY old book with a new cover that looks cleverly oldish) by this guy G.K. Chesterton, who lived like about a hundred years ago. It's all about how people have lost their minds and fail to admit that there is any absolute truth. (And we thought this was a NEW problem!) And it's pretty interesting and then it happened...

I turned the page to Chapter 4 and there it was.

THE ETHICS OF ELFLAND.

My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe it. My mind starts racing. What amazing correlation to pointy ears and great archery skills could Chesterton possibly put in his book? Now this book is getting GOOD! So I read on as Chesterton tells how he learned all he needed about ethics and philosophy from fairy tales: chilvary & justice & pride from "Jack & the Beanstalk"; Humility & honor from "Cinderella"; love & inner beauty from "Beauty & the Beast"; the curse of death & sin from "Sleeping Beauty". But he goes on to say that we have lost that sense of charm, magic, the supernatural by our obsession with facts & scientific laws. We no longer believe in miracles. And we have lost our wonder at life because we are certain that pears always grow on pear trees and chickens only lay eggs and cancer equals death.

So my challenge for us in this thought is "How am I missing the supernatural presence of God by my literal interpretation of what I see?" It is not the norm to believe that donkeys can talk or cripples can walk or dead men can be awoke. These things are against the scientific laws of the day. But do you believe they are possible? What things are keeping you from expecting to see God do the unexpected?