IMAGINATION

February 4, 2009

John 8:31—38; John 17:6—19 "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth , and the truth will make you free.' They answered him, 'We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?' Jesus answered them, 'Very truly , I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanetnt place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportuniuty to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father's presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.'

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave, me because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."


In his inaugural address Barak Obama said, “Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.”

John Lennon wrote a song the title of which is Imagine. The lyrics suggest that if we imagine a world in which there is no heaven or hell, no religion, no countries, and no possessions then there would be no wars, nothing to kill or die for, no hunger and no greed. Imagine all the people living in peace. It is a radical approach to but I don’t believe it is a godless one.

Imagination is the God given ability to perceive the divine plan that every person is a child of the Creator and entitled to live freely in the community of God’s people without prejudice, persecution and hunger. Imagine such a world. Imagine such a community. Imagine such a family. Imagine a person who sees God’s way as the way to live. Imagine you are that person. Imagine your task is to convert your family your friends, neighbors and the world to that understanding. Unless you and I can imagine what it is like there is no possibility of taking the steps to share the vision and convert others to participate in the enterprise of becoming the people, the community, and the family God intends for us to be.

Another line from the inaugural address challenges us, “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.” The time has come to set aside the differences that divide us: the partisanship, the gridlock, the greed, the lust for power, privilege, wealth, race, envy, pride and every other means of dividing people that exists.
God sends his Son Jesus into the world corrupted by sin to help us imagine the divine intention of creation. He teaches us to imagine a world of justice and peace, of love, respect, and compassion. Jesus describes the true disciples of the divine will of God in John 8:31—38. “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free…So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I declare to you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”
Jesus prays in John 17:20—21, “I ask…that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” The differences that we allow to separate and divide us are human creations and aberrations of the divine intention. Imagine what God created you and the people around you and the world we live in to be. Then with all your heart, mind, and strength do all you can to realize that vision so that the world may live as one. It begins with your imagination and your dedication to the task.

It is an exciting time to be the church in the world. The challenges are great and our God is almighty. Everything is possible with Him. Our future is dependent on our understanding of the divine vision of the church. Pastor Jerry Wahl, Mission Director for the Florida Bahamas Synod in the recent workshop helped us define the purpose of the church. There are four elements: worship, education, koinonia, and service. The worship must be inspiring. The education is life-long. Koinonia is the fellowship of believers; and the church exits for the sake of the world—serving others. Imagine how the world would look if we began to live together as God’s people for the sake of the world.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream must be imagined to become a reality.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal...I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”