“And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you forever” I Chronicles 28: 9.

When searching through a concordance, there are more verses that speak of the imagination as evil than speak of it as good. But imagination can be good. As a child I loved to read. Books carried me far away and my mind imagined all the scenes in the books I read. Perhaps learning about all those lands and the people who inhabited them was part of the impetus to my becoming a missionary.

When, around the age of 17, I was introduced to scripture, I read it with imagination intact. I imagined creation as I read about it. I imagined what it would be like for an angel to stand before me and say, “Fear not.” I always doubted those words from an angel’s lips to me would help me fear less, because it seemed to be a pretty awesome experience to me. No story escaped my imagination as I don’t think I can read without seeing pictures in my mind.
After reading Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, I began to add other details to what I read, such as imagining the smells, what things may have tasted like (manna) or felt like as I meditated on scripture.

Corporate worship is most always very meaningful to me. I think it is because I have such a repertoire of biblical stories in my memory and I can envision these stories in my mind in so many different ways. When I hear the word read, when I sing or when I take communion I see what I hear, read, sing, or meditate upon. Often when I pray I can see the four creatures flying up and down above the Father crying Holy, Holy, Holy. How great our God becomes as we try to picture what is impossible to picture. Some of my happiest moments in my life have been moments in active worship.

Scripture is correct to warn us about evil imaginations of our hearts, but imagination can be a good thing if it comes from a single heart that honors God, however, Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 2:9, "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him." Imagination fails us when it comes to experiencing the reality. I look forward to that reality. Until then, I will imagine it.