Will you indulge me once again for one more bit of cool information from my reading about our brains? They have a default setting – joy. Babies, from birth to eighteen months, respond to the joyful presence of Mom and Dad and more besides. Any happy interaction pleases them and strengthens their joy. Ever heard a baby laugh when tickled? Priceless! Ever seen a baby mimic the silly face dad is making? Unforgettable! Ever seen a baby repeat a look or action which elicited a smiling/laughing reaction from their audience? Sooo cute! They’re flexing their default brain setting and even sharing their joy.

This setting remains dominant until one of six unpleasant emotions overwhelms it. Those emotions are sadness, fear, anger, shame, disgust, and hopeless despair. When confronted with a situation that provokes one of these, the baby’s joy is set aside to deal with the intruder. This also resets the little one’s brain to be on the lookout for this unwelcome guest in the future. Once the negative emotion is experienced, it will become the dominant setting that remains. If multiple negative emotions occur, a complex, multi-emotion default setting will be established and carried into adulthood.

This is so revealing! It speaks to why the glorious truth of the Gospel, the message that the God of the universe loves us, is frequently met with resistance. It’s because it seems too good to be true (that’s not what our brain’s default is set to expect). It also tells me that information alone will not undo years of wrong thinking. Jesus’ mission wasn’t just about imparting information. It was intensely, and intentionally, relational. He lived thirty years in a relationship with his family and close-knit community. For his public ministry, he chose to surround himself with twelve men to mentor and befriend, all the while modeling Kingdom living, a Kingdom lifestyle. 

For his disciples, Jesus’ life shared with them gradually re-wrote their default settings, bringing them closer and closer to being able to accept the beautiful things he said to them and about them. Jesus pressed into relationship, not giving up on them, even when a frustrating lack of understanding was evident. It took the Pentecost arrival of the Holy Spirit for the men finally to ‘get’ Jesus’ love for them. This ‘getting’ set them on fire for the work of building the church. We, too, might need a fresh ‘Pentecost re-write.’ Lord, let your fire fall! Y’all come tomorrow, 10 AM, 3 PM UK, 4 PM ES.  PD

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