Aha! Moments

We've all had them - those "aha!" moments when suddenly we "get" something that we haven't "gotten" before. It might be a solution to a puzzle, a method to repair a household item, a big-picture understanding of truth, or even a huge link to reach an entire people group!

Scientists have studied the "aha!" moment at the level of puzzle-solving, and the results are fascinating. Basically, to cultivate "aha!" moments, we need to redirect our thinking. We need to shift our perspective and look at the same problem in new ways. We need to relax and allow our brains to make seemingly random connections that turn out to be not so random after all.
(Read the article at http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2008/01/22/eureka-how-the-brain-has-aha-moments.aspx).

Hmm, sound familiar?

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom. 12:1, ESV)

When we come to Christ, we don't automatically "get it" all. But the process of transformation comes through the renewing of our minds - through learning to think differently about old things. From looking at problems in new (Biblical!) ways, we find solutions that we didn't think were there before. And we begin to see that seemingly random things are truly connected in the great purpose of God!

The wonderful thing about the body of Christ is that we each bring uniqueness to our renewed minds. God doesn't make us cookie cutters; He gives us unique gifts and uses our personalities and strengths for His glory - the way He originally designed us, not the way sin corrupted us. Just think how different Peter and Paul were!

And through our relationships with each other we can gain further "new perspectives" that will give us ways of looking at problems that we hadn't seen before. Just think of how missiology has grown by leaps and bounds because of Don Richardson's insight, recorded in Eternity in Their Hearts, that God places redemptive analogies, or "keys", within each culture to prepare the way for the Gospel. His aha! moment, shared with the body of Christ, has transformed how many look at communicating the message! Truly, we need each other, and we need each others' perspectives.

Do you have a perplexing problem? Stay in the Word, seek that renewed mind that brings transformation, see what potential solutions other believers who see things from a different angle might offer. And pray constantly! Our aha! moments are old news to an omniscient Creator.

“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16, ESV)