The image used for this article is a variation of the Mandelbrot Set. You may ask, “what in the world does the Mandelbrot Set have to do with anything?” Well, let me tell you a story…
Yesterday, I was writing a college paper for a math class regarding Benoit Mandelbrot and his discovery called fractal geometry. The source material was a YouTube video by Nova about his life and the search for the “hidden dimension.” I won’t bore you with all of the scientific details, however I will tell you that Mandelbrot was an amazing man. He was a maverick in his field and that is what I like most about his story. He had the ability to look at things in a new way… to question the status quo… to ask hard questions. He also overcame real persecution in his life and evaded the hatred of the Nazi party in France. Later, in his professional career, he overcame the harsh ridicule of his peers. So, he was a true over-comer and revolutionary. I wonder, was it just happenstance that he survived murderous Germans? Was it coincidence that he saw geometric principles that others had not defined and ultimately changed the methodologies applied across multiple disciplines? I don’t think so.
I believe that Mandelbrot had his eyes opened by God, for whatever reason. I suggest that God has a hand in all such major events throughout human history. There are many reasons that we might guess as to why these things happen and when. Regardless, we must just accept that God moves and works within His time-frame, not ours. For example, Mandelbrot’s fractal geometry was the foundation for the evolution in design for cell phone antennas and the handling of multiple frequencies within a single device. Do you think God is concerned with such things? Why would this happen now, in our lifetime? Maybe this has a part to play in the continued globalization of human communication. Ok, ok… so how does this line of thinking affect us as believers?
Consider this. Throughout the history of Christianity, major events occurred that ushered in revolution of thought – or new ways of thinking. For the most part, these revolutionary ideas served to further the spreading of the Gospel among peoples and nations. Sometimes these new ways of looking at old religion, tore down the comfortable places of complacency to spread a fire of revival among the masses. God touched the minds of specific people to take a fresh look at old ways of doing things. This is the heart of my purpose for this article. I say to you, never be afraid to ask “why.” Do not be complacent with the status quo of church life. Allow God to open your eyes to new thoughts about how to spread the Gospel to the world and to our neighbors. Now, suffice it to say that we should never start a revolution for the sake of revolution. The application of a new thought process must be filtered through the Truth of God’s Word and it must line up with scripture.
In conclusion, let us actively look for new ways to spread the Gospel message. Let us do it with passion and respect, but don’t be afraid to step out of the box of conformity. Who knows, well God does… you may be the person who sparks a great revival in the world for Jesus. Dream big.
Photo Attribution: “Mandel zoom 08 satellite antenna”. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mandel_zoom_08_satellite_antenna.jpg
