Mar 26, 2015

“I Can Only Imagine…”

William Villalpando

Note: Thank you Jane Mackintosh for coming up with this idea and inspiring me to write this.

Today I thought it might be fun if we tried using our godly imagination. I would like you to go sit and read Genesis 2:4-25 and imagine the change from the barren wasteland that was earth to the creation of the Garden of Eden. Go ahead. I’ll wait and be here when you get back.

Welcome back. Here are the thoughts that played through my mind.

I imagine at first a dry and barren landscape, desert like with sand very hard packed into the earth. There seem to be a few places where rivers might be, but rather than beautiful rushing rivers, they are empty, with droplets of water hardly flowing through rough gravel.

Next, I imagine God causing an enormous garden to grow. A garden that looks more like a beautiful vast forest full of every tree and every living creature you can imagine, and of course vast rushing rivers. I then have this almost comical image of God picking up Adam and almost dropping him in the middle of the Garden. And all of the living creatures coming up to Adam in an almost Snow White-esque way. Adam is not afraid of any of them. God then asks Adam to name each of the creatures. Adam works through each one and gives them a name: Tiger, Monkey, all the way down to the smallest Ant. But God sees that although Adam is happy, he desires a companion. Thus God causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He takes a rib from Adam’s side, and begins to mold it like clay, creating Eve. And they begin to work and live together in true happiness with God.

So what was the point of this? God gave us all the ability to imagine, to create beautiful pictures in our minds with him. When we read the Bible we need to use this gift in order to help us understand everything that God’s word has to show us. As we grow closer to God, this gift will grow stronger. So practice with this gift, and enjoy the ability to imagine God’s word with him.