The Power of Imagination
The devil can only take what God creates and pervert it because he is not a creator nor is he omnipotent.
When I was growing up, I was told that I had a vivid imagination. Later in life I would hear about people who had a vain imagination. Certainly there are extremes to any truth that comes our way. If there is an evil imagination it must have started after the fall of Adam. At that time God said His creation was good except for man being alone. Adam must have had an imagination that was God-like.
When God created Adam, He said "Let Us make man in our own image" (Genesis 1:26) The word for "image" here (stehlem) means the resemblance or the shadow of something. We could even say we're part of God's imagination or foreshadow of what He was us expecting to become.
Jesus said in John 5:19 that He was not able to do anything unless He saw His Father doing it. This tells me Jesus was in view of what God the Father was doing. Through Jesus sacrifice on the cross, the veil has been removed so that we are also able to envision the calling of God for our life.
As a young child, I remember coming up with ways to entertain myself while my siblings were away at school. I would gather all of my sisters' dolls and stuffed animals that I could find and line them up on the bed as my "congregation." Though I couldn't read, I held a huge Webster's Dictionary in both hands and imagined preaching to the dolls and other assorted critters. I made the same gestures I had watched my pastor use when he was intent on making a point stick. I would pretend I was speaking to large crowds and I could even feel the passion for what I was doing. Though I had not told anyone, I knew I wanted to be a preacher. The teddy bear in my estimation was the most rebellious of my congrgation so I would always get the bear saved at the end of the meeting. That really doesn't seem strange for a five or six year old, but I know it planted a seed of faith inside me so that when I started teaching, it wasn't a large leap for me. From those abstract beginnings I have not had trouble believing God for the supernatural in my life.
Imagination is powerful. Genesis 1:1 gives the account of when the whole world spoke one language. The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built. Due to the unity of language, the Lord said there was nothing impossible that they could imagine. In this case, imagination was used for self.centered purposes - for the sons of men to make a name for themselves. The power to imaginie and the unity of language would enable them to achieve their vision. Just think how powerful it would be for someone who is Messiah-centered in his or her imagination.
When I was growing up, I was told that I had a vivid imagination. Later in life I would hear about people who had a vain imagination. Certainly there are extremes to any truth that comes our way. If there is an evil imagination it must have started after the fall of Adam. At that time God said His creation was good except for man being alone. Adam must have had an imagination that was God-like.
When God created Adam, He said "Let Us make man in our own image" (Genesis 1:26) The word for "image" here (stehlem) means the resemblance or the shadow of something. We could even say we're part of God's imagination or foreshadow of what He was us expecting to become.
Jesus said in John 5:19 that He was not able to do anything unless He saw His Father doing it. This tells me Jesus was in view of what God the Father was doing. Through Jesus sacrifice on the cross, the veil has been removed so that we are also able to envision the calling of God for our life.
As a young child, I remember coming up with ways to entertain myself while my siblings were away at school. I would gather all of my sisters' dolls and stuffed animals that I could find and line them up on the bed as my "congregation." Though I couldn't read, I held a huge Webster's Dictionary in both hands and imagined preaching to the dolls and other assorted critters. I made the same gestures I had watched my pastor use when he was intent on making a point stick. I would pretend I was speaking to large crowds and I could even feel the passion for what I was doing. Though I had not told anyone, I knew I wanted to be a preacher. The teddy bear in my estimation was the most rebellious of my congrgation so I would always get the bear saved at the end of the meeting. That really doesn't seem strange for a five or six year old, but I know it planted a seed of faith inside me so that when I started teaching, it wasn't a large leap for me. From those abstract beginnings I have not had trouble believing God for the supernatural in my life.
