Inatentional Blindness... the more you look the less you see!

I’ve talked before about a concept that I refer to as inatentional blindness. This is simply a term describing the idea of a loss of fascination with things that are ordinarily fascinating. This loss of fascination resulting from things becoming so familiar that we cease to notice them is often the bane of humanity. For instance, when’s the last time you were fascinated by the idea of the earth revolving around the sun while rotating on its axis? Exactly! That’s my point. Now consider this: The earth, according to Isaac Asimov’s accepted calculations, revolves around the sun at a speed of 18.5 miles per second which is 66,600 miles per hour, while rotating on its axis doing one full rotation every 24 hours (It’s literally enough to make your head spin). By comparison the fastest jet plane in the world is reportedly the SR-71 Blackbird, which flies at Mach 3.3 (or 3.3 times the speed of sound in air) which is 2,460.64 miles per hour.

In order to fly this supersonic aircraft, you’re required to wear special gear that prevents you from passing out due to the gravitational forces acting on your body (G-forces). You can find information about the SR-71 just about anywhere on the internet, largely because human flight at such supersonic speeds still holds a particular fascination for us. In reality though, it’s a miniscule feat considering we’re all riding on a planet that’s traveling at 66,600mph (and that without specialized suits). Or how about the idea that, as you read this, there are people walking in space orbit at about 380 miles above us, wearing specialized suits that cost millions of dollars, which prevent them from vaporizing in the unforgiving atmosphere of space. In addition, the precision of the mathematical algorithms that are required, to ensure that the astronauts are able to enter back into earth’s orbit at precisely the right angle so as not to bounce off the earth’s atmosphere and be lost in space forever, are mind boggling. But we have become inattentive to this and now take it all for granted. Hardly anyone even pays attention to the fact that we have people walking in space above us working on a telescope that can transmit precise and detailed images of coruscating stars that are millions of miles away.

Is it remotely possible that we might have done the same with God? Is it potentially possible that we have lost our fascination for the amazing act of love demonstrated in Jesus dying on a cross? Could we have begun to take for granted the fact that the One who holds the waters of the sea in the palm of His hands is the same one that calls us His own. Or are we blinded to the fact that the creator of the heavens and the earth (the One responsible for revolutions and rotations and coruscating stars) is actually our Father? If we are, it’s as a result of inatentional blindness. We’ve stopped seeing the wonder of His love and creation and, like we do with the astronauts walking 380 miles above us, we take Him for granted. If, as you read this, you can honestly say that shoe fits you… don’t wear it. Take it off and fall in love all over again with the Lover of your soul. Determine that from today you will give Him your full and undivided attention, so that you can again be fascinated by the wonders of His love and creation.