Ambassadors of Imagination

Hmmm…I saw this term used on a blog recently.  The blogger’s main point was that with the advancement of technology, more and more we have lost our ability to imagine...and as a culture, we have forgotten how to play. Do you agree or disagree? Does it matter?

For me, thinking about imagination brings an inner conflict to the surface. Sometimes when I start to do something that requires imagination, thoughts chip away at my creativity like a persistent ice pick or a dripping leaky faucet—when is somebody going to get up and turn that thing off!  “It’s not spiritual enough…” “but that’s not telling the truth, it’s fantasy…” or other nagging thoughts that squash any inspiration that might be trying to come forth.

Then I begin to reflect. If we as believers carry Jesus in our hearts and we are one with Him and our Heavenly Father (John 17), and if we are obedient to His Word and His Spirit within us, then what we do is an expression of God’s life in and through us. Jesus is the Word that created the universe. Creating is His nature.

In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and He was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that He didn’t make (John 1:1-3, TLB).

Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! (Isaiah 65:17-18a, TLB).

Of course, we can use our imagination and creativity for our own selfish purposes and to bolster our own egos…or we can offer our whole selves to God and use our imagination and creativity for His honor and glory.

Although I don’t consider myself “an ambassador of the imagination,” the Apostle Paul calls us “ambassadors for Christ,” and if that means using my imagination and creativity, then I am most blest (2 Cor. 5:20). 

Photo above: Torso in the foreground - My first lesson at a Russian artist's studio last week.