Set Your Mind On Things Above
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2
Joseph and Étienne were 2 of the 16 children of Pierre Montgolfier, whose paper factories in the small town of Vidalon, in southern France, ensured the financial support of their balloon experiments.
While carrying on their father’s paper business, they maintained their interest in scientific experimentation.
In 1782 they discovered that heated air, when collected inside a large lightweight paper or fabric bag, caused the bag to rise into the air. The Montgolfiers made the first public demonstration of this discovery on June 4, 1783, at the marketplace. They filled their balloon with heated air by burning straw and wool under the opening at the bottom of the bag. The balloon rose into the air about 3,000 feet, remained there some 10 minutes, and then settled to the ground more than a mile and a half from where it rose. The Montgolfiers traveled to Paris and then to Versailles, where they repeated the experiment with a larger balloon on September 19, 1783, sending a sheep, a rooster, and a duck aloft as passengers. The balloon floated for about 8 minutes and landed safely about 2 miles from the launch site.
On November 21, 1783, the first manned untethered flight took place in a Montgolfier balloon with Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent as passengers. The balloon sailed over Paris for 5.5 miles in about 25 minutes.
The brothers had set their minds on things above.
When we set our minds on Jesus, we find our true purpose in life, so set your mind on Jesus in all that you do.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrew 12:1-2