I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. (Acts 26:19) “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9, 10) Throughout his ministry, the apostle Paul was obedient to the heavenly vision he received from the living Christ. Paul’s encounter with the Lord began a long process of the total transformation of his nature. During the long years of preparation for ministry, Paul gained a clear picture of what it meant to become a new creature in Christ. He also was given the vision for the evangelization of the then-known world. His imagination was fully captured by the new man he was called to be in Christ. He became a Christ-captivated, Christ-filled, Christ-motivated, Christ-empowered person. Paul clearly condemned the false use of the imagination in what he called “vain imaginings” of fallen man. But he also, with greater force and clarity, proclaimed the ministry of the Spirit to activate vision for what He had planned. This is worked out in several places in Paul’s epistles, but most powerfully in 1 Corinthians 2. Careful consideration of this passage reveals the difference between the false and creative use of the imagination. Paul declares that he was determined to know nothing, “except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” We are left to wonder what a brain captivated by the mind of Christ is to be like in our twentieth-century culture. Surely the mind of Christ invades all facets and faculties and functions of the brain. This is the source of a Christ-empowered imagination. On this basis, we can pray about our decisions and plans with the full assurance that “the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” will be made clear. They will be painted vividly on the canvas of our imagination. Then with the gift of faith we can press on. Lord, use my imagination!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 02:09:27 +0000
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