When you think about the word “imagination,” what does that mean to you? For me (Sara), I think about my imaginary friend I had growing up, or using my imagination by pretending to be an animal as I chased my brother around the house (sorry kid!).
I’ve noticed that as I’ve grown older, I’ve grown further and further away from that child-like mentality where creativity and inventiveness thrive. It’s easy to adopt an imaginative mind when you’re in a room full of children, but you’ll probably get some stares if you say, “Why that’s not a cardboard box, that’s a princess castle!” in a room full of adults.
The definition of imagination is as follows: the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.
What if I told you God desires for us to become more imaginative? Maybe instead of us viewing being imaginative as a childlike mindset we can’t or don’t want to return to, we view it as a gift from God that fosters a closer relationship with Him. What if we saw imagination as a change agent in our lives?
Philippians 4:8-10 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Paul lays out a clear directive here – think about such things. If we want to become more like Jesus, we need to think like he thinks and put it into practice! This week, we’ll learn that becoming more imaginative is about shifting our thinking, and aligning ourselves closer with God.
What comes to mind when you think of being more imaginative? How easy/difficult is it for you to use your imagination?
Author: Sara Fullerton
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