The other day I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and noticed the plethora of video links that had statements ending with “And you will never believe what happened next!” or “And what he said next will leave you speechless!” The most prevalent ending was “Mind = blown” or some similar variation. I wrote a quick response on my status, and wanted to expand it a little here.
Often, after clicking play on these videos, I have found myself thinking, “Well, that was cool, but not mind-blowing. Seriously? Someone really thinks that was mind blowing?” Many are very talented people, doing some amazing things… but again, mind = blown? Defined, Mind-blowing is something so unexpected or wonderful that your brain cannot comprehend it. It’s simply staggering to the imagination. Like witnessing the birth of your child, or witnessing something so incomprehensible or impossible that it hurts your head to try and wrap your mind around it. Most of these videos don’t even come close to that definition. I believe that the phrase is becoming way too overused because most of these videos are just really really cool. For example: the word “awesome,” once held high as a word to describe God, it has now entered pedestrian vernacular to describe a dish of ice cream or the wheel of a car.
Do you want to really stretch your mind? In our instant information culture where we never have to really think or investigate anymore because of “the Google” at our fingertips wherever we are, wrapping our minds around something that causes us to puzzle and ponder at length is something of a rarity. I started thinking about the nature of God. Infinite. Above all time yet operates in time. Who can see beginning and end simultaneously. Who knows all, sees all, is in all, then, now and beyond. Who chose to come to earth in the limited body of a human, live here, and ultimately die here. A God who is both love and judgment, mercy and justice and one can’t be without the other. A God who has an eternal love for me yet can’t abide my sin because righteousness and holiness are the foundation of his throne! Eternal, limitless, infinity … yet He longs to be in relationship with finite, limited me! How marvelous is that thought? A God who is big enough to to hear the billions of prayers of people around the world in a constant stream, but is personal enough to minister to people right where they are in a specific moment. How can I comprehend a person who was before time, before space, before light? How can I understand a Being who creates with spoken word? Who creates order and design out of nothing. Who spun the universe into being, who positioned the earth so perfectly so that life would be sustained in perfect harmonic balance. Who designed the human body so amazingly – so much so that we, in all our knowledge and ability, still have not even come close to being able to replicate.
The thing is that this is not simply a brain process, but it’s something that affects our emotional center as well. Because when we say our minds are blown, often that means our emotions are simultaneous overwhelmed! The birth of a child is such a wondrous miracle that it amazes us and fills our heart with such joy. So when we start pondering the significance of God, it’s not just a cognitive exercise, but a simultaneous emotional journey. When we start in John 1, we see those words that echo Genesis 1 — “In the beginning.” In other words, before anything else was… God was. And that’s what John begins his book by saying: “In the beginning the Word (Jesus Christ) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” That’s powerful mind-blowing stuff right there! And there’s a whole book of revelation about this God that just scratches the edges of His nature, His character and His essence! Want to really blow your mind? Pick up the Bible and start meditating on the nature of God… I guarantee you will question Him, wrestle with Him and shake your head in amazement. You might just be surprised at what happens!