God’s Gift of Imagination

   Imagination is a wonderful gift from God. The ability He has given our minds to create mental images and thoughts is extraordinary. The Lord intended for us to be mentally active because He made us in His image. It's not hard to understand where we have acquired this incredible insight because everything around us is the Lord’s imagination turned into His creations.  

   Like free will, imagination needs to be pointed in the right direction. The freedom God has allowed us to experience in regards to personal creativity comes with a choice. We can use it selfishly or allow Christ to guide it in the direction God has planned for us to use it.

   In our Christian lives, we know the right choice is abandoning ourselves to Christ and abiding in the truth of God’s word. By believing in Christ as the Savior, we have been saved. The difference this makes in our lives is undeniable for we can live righteously in an unjust world.

 Our creative nature also needs the same exposure to the way God wants us to envision things. When our focus is on Christ, we are inspired to learn more about Him. We develop a Christian mindset, and our thoughts shift from self-seeking desires to thinking more Christ-like.

When God guides your imagination, your talents become an instrument of His will. Those around you come face to face with His incredible power and glory. And the more you channel your creativity through Christ the better you become at improving the effectiveness of God’s designed plan for your life.   

Without the Messiah’s aid, the mind is exposed to all sorts of corrupt thoughts and visions. All throughout the history of man there are tons of evidence disclosing the destruction from the misuse of imagination. Every century has left behind proof attesting to the negative results from an untamed mind.  

   In ancient Egypt, the Pharaohs envisioned a burial place where they could lay to rest and have all their material possessions placed next to their mummified bodies. They built the Pyramids for that reason and the price paid for their extravagant vision was the death of thousands of slaves. They didn’t care about the welfare of their captives because their imagination was self-centered.

   God is almighty and has always left His mark on the world.   The Lord is loving and has used many people over the centuries for revealing the beauty of creative spiritual imagination. God has made sure that we know He has always combated wrongful imagination.

 In the early 13^th-Century St. Francis of Assisi imagined living his life as close to Christ’s characteristics as humanly possible. His Family was wealthy. When he heard God’s call, he traded his privileged lifestyle for one totally dedicated to Christ. He continued imaging the way Christ was selfless in fulfilling God’s will and lived in poverty serving the needs of the poor until his death in 1226.

   Learning how to be disciplined in our thinking is not an overnight matter. It’s a daily commitment to prayer, meditation, and devotion. Christ knows we will wander off course and the closer we are to Him the better we become in recognizing our separation from His presence.

  

We are indeed blessed to have God be so willing to allow us to partake in creative imagination. The rewards the Lord gives to us from placing Him above ourselves are limitless. If we make the right choice in using our imagination, then we understand the essence of the gift.

How do you use your imagination?