The Power of Imagination

Chuckle: A Sunday School teacher asked little Johnny if he said prayers before eating? "No Sir," he replied. "We don't have to. My mom is a good cook!"

Quote: “For God hath made you able to create worlds in your own mind which are more precious to Him than those which He created.” --Thomas Traherne

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more then all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations . . .” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV).

Dotse and I are blessed with two wonderful Children who make us very proud. When our firstborn daughter was two years old, I left home for a year-long tour of duty in Korea, and I returned when she was three. In my absence, our precious little girl had conjured up in her mind two imaginary friends and playmates named Patsy and Cory. I was amazed by how real her imaginary friends were to her. When we would go into the house or get into the car, she reminded us to hold the door open for Patsy and Cory. As I think about those precious memories, I can’t help but be amazed by the power of imagination, which can bring us great pleasure or great pain as we deal with imaginary people, things, or events.

Imagination is a powerful God-given human trait that adds great joy and excitement to our lives. Almost everything we do is influenced by our imagination. The creation of drama, poetry, or music that enriches our lives is inspired by imagination shaped by life’s experiences. Imagination allows us to live in the world of make-belief. This is especially true for children. We can only conclude that when God created us, He did not overlook the value of imagination. Since God knew we could not see him with our physical eyes, just maybe He gave us the ability to see Him through the eyes of our imagination.

By faith, we can be “certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1), and our imagination helps us fully appreciate the fullness of that certainty. In our passage, Paul reminds us, however, that even our imagination is inadequate for accurately visualizing the attributes of God. He operates in a realm far beyond even our imagination.

Yes, imagination can bring unbelievable wonder, mystery, beauty and joy into our lives, but there is also a dark side to our imagination. Runaway imagination may make you fear that the worst will happen, and your own thoughts may actually help bring it about. Someone has said, "Fear is the wrong use of imagination.” Of course, we know many imaginary adversities we worry and fret about never materialize. Unjustified dread and fear can result in stress and anxiety that make us miserable and can even damage our health.

When we allow God to train and control our imaginations through our faith, we will begin to experience the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10. As Christians, we need to capture, or recapture, the power of imagination as it is influenced by our unshakable faith in the One who gave us this wonderful gift – IMAGINATION!

Love, Jerry & Dotse