What if I told you that your experience in the here and now, is nothing compared to what you can imagine in your wildest dreams, would you believe me? You most likely would believe me. In fact, not only would you believe me, you would also say that if your imaginations were to come true, reality would be a lot better off than it is now. I mean, just imagine it. But what if I told you that your experience in reality is part of the greatest, most imaginative reality possible? Would you believe me? Would you believe that this imagination would serve to be the greatest possible good for all people on the earth? Probably not? Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21 Here’s what I’m getting at: God’s intention is to reconcile the world into his plan for salvation. Therefore everything that occurs in our lives was imagined to be an act of reconciliation– to bring one more soul, one more person to God’s infinite grace, love and mercy, so that a perspective of eternity can be seen and imagined for all individuals. This reality supercedes the imagination of any single human being and additionally any reality that an individual can dream for himself or herself– God’s reality is of a greater imagination than any we can ever fathom. So that should nudge us toward reimagining our duties and obligations within God’s framework and His imagination. What does that “reimagining” of our duties and obligations look like then? First, it looks like the “fullness of God.” Secondly, it looks like the glorification of Jesus in and through our actions that has lasting impacts from here into eternity. More concretely the “fullness of God” is a love that is inclusive, inexhaustible, and self-sacrificing. This, in turn, climaxes into a gracious reconcilliation of people to God that defines brand new relationships between God and His people. Our duties and obligations in a reimagined reality of God, which is simply our current reality but seen through a new lens focused from the perspective of heaven, can then be described as a reliance on God to do, within us, more than we imagined ourselves being capable of doing. Further, from that reliance on God to do more than we realized to do for ourselves, what stems is a radical change in our being and focus to do something completely uncharactistic– something godly, in the image of God, as we were created to be and thus we become greater than we could have ever imagined. If you can’t imagine what that would look like for you, then this is what you want, even if you can’t imagine it. There is a greater imagination awaiting us, if we want it as our reality.
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