The Power of an Idea

Ideas are powerful. An idea has the ability to change everything that you thought you knew about life. Society believed in a flat Earth until someone had an idea that changed that belief system. That one idea not only changed what we believed about life...it changed the way we viewed life. An idea has the ability to destroy or to build. But powerful ideas...life changing ideas... have the ability to do both. 

The majority of great ideas aren't automatically accepted. In fact, most great ideas are initially rejected. It takes a great deal of bravery to see a great idea come to fruition. People are ok with bravery as long as your bravery doesn't infringe on their comfort. The second that your bravery attacks their comfort then you are automatically labeled as a rebel...or worse...a heretic. 

One of the most frustrating things in the religious world is peoples tendency to take something different and automatically label it as "wrong". We are so quick to take something that doesn't meet our level of expectation and reject it. Ideas challenge us to think differently. They offer us the chance to see from a different perspective. The problem lies in the fact that many of us don't WANT to think differently. In fact...many of us don't want to think AT ALL! We are perfectly content with living off of second hand revelation. 

This is nothing new. Jesus faced the same problem in His day. In Matthew 5 Jesus unloads some of the most life changing ideas that have ever been spoken. This is how it reads...

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.  - Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. -Matthew 5:27-28

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. -Matthew 5:31-33

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. -Matthew 5:33-35

"You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." -Matthew 5:38-39

"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."-Matthew 5:43-44

Get the picture?? The major challenge that these people were facing was the battle to not sacrifice what they were hearing on the altar of what they had heard. In order to receive the life that Jesus was offering they had to THINK DIFFERENTLY. 

If you are anything like me then you have found yourself in unfavorable circumstances. I find myself constantly asking God to come and fix my mess. I want to suggest to you that God is much more interested in fixing your mindset before He fixes your mess. That’s the power of a great idea! Jesus had a powerful idea because He had a powerful God behind it. Powerful ideas draw you into an encounter with God. And it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to encounter something and not make it new.