Matthew 18:3 “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
On my recent babysitting trip to Nashville, I found out my 3-year-old grandson had never experienced a bubble bath. So of course, I decided to remedy the situation for my deprived little fellow. Grandma to the rescue!
My idea didn’t disappoint. Lavender-scented foam filled the tub and Quinn’s squeals and laughter filled my heart. Although the wash cloth was his only “bath toy,” that bubble bath occupied him for over an hour. He would hide “Mr. Washcloth” under the bubbles while I searched each bedroom, only to report back (a bit dramatically of course) that Mr. Washcloth was nowhere to be found!
Nothing can put a smile on your face quite like a child’s imagination.
I wonder if Jesus was referring to imagination as one of those childlike characteristics we need in order to enter his kingdom. It’s imagination that enables us to see the unseeable. Imagination that empowers us to look beyond the concrete material world. And imagination that invites us to hope, and to trust in an unseen God. “Imagination,” says Christian author C.S. Fritz, “is crucial to faith.”
Faith erupts when our imagination is tethered to the Word of God. Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1) that allows us to visualize what the Bible says is true. It enables us to see other people as fellow image-bearers when their actions don’t align with that truth (Gen 1:27). To see good coming out of evil on dark days (Rom 8:28). And to experience church gatherings as family dinners in the presence of a loving Father (Matt. 18:20). It unlocks miracles-in-waiting and changes the world.
So if imagination can turn ordinary washcloths into mischievous little people… And attics into palaces filled with hidden treasures… And playdough into the longest worms ever… Just think what it can do through the highest form of God’s creation. Through you and me. As Francis Schaeffer wrote, “The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.”
Why not ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle your imagination and restoke your faith? What might happen if we imagine that nothing is impossible with God?