Jesus Must Shape Our Imaginations
Exiles at Home, Directive One
All scripture in today’s post taken from the NIV.
In last week’s post, I introduced “exiles at home” as a controlling theme in considering evangelical faithfulness. Central to this thought experiment is the idea that Christians have one foot in God’s kingdom and the other in their home cultures. Thus, as I phrased it last week, “The Christian ... becomes the embodiment of kingdom life that is appropriate to his or her own cultural space.” That groundwork laid, we move today to a primary question concerning our life in the world: As exiles, which force(s) should shape our individual and collective imaginations?
When we talk about imagination (at least in this context), we are referencing the ways that we perceive the world and its possibilities. I think here of Paul’s message in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Note the progression in that verse. Transformed thinking leads to the ability to discern God’s will? Why? Because when we imagine the world correctly, we automatically gravitate toward the good God desires. This doesn’t mean that the way forward will always be obvious. It will mean, however, that our minds have been shaped to think well about the situations and possibilities before us. To put that in Paul’s terminology, thinking with renewed minds gives us the tools to “test and approve what God’s will is.” In this we find an important insight about discipleship: rather than zapping us with a constant, moment to moment do this/do that roadmap for living, God is shaping our thinking - our imaginations - so that we will see the world as he does and naturally gravitate toward the good he desires. Having our imaginations renewed in this manner is a large part of what it means to have one foot in God’s kingdom. It’s what empowers us to affirm and deny our home cultures through the lens of faith.
So, how do we pursue renewed imaginations - let’s call them kingdom imaginations - that perceive the world properly? The default evangelical answer to this question is regular engagement in worship, group Bible study, and personal quiet times. Yet, the past year has shown us that the default answer doesn’t necessarily lead to imaginative renewal. As a discipleship minister in 2020, I was discouraged to realize that Fox News and American individualism had as much, if not more, say in the evangelical imagination than the kingdom. Thus, much of my faith tradition approached the pandemic and racial strife of 2020 through the stunted lenses of individual freedom over corporate responsibility and protection of the status quo over deep listening to disenfranchised voices. Whatever else we might say about these attitudes and the actions they inspired, they most certainly are not products of kingdom imaginings.
If our usual forms of devotion have failed to produce the fruit they promised, what are we to do? Here, I would like to suggest a focus on the gospels. One of the critiques leveled at evangelical theologies and others like them is their failure to truly take stock of the teaching and example of Jesus in the gospels. To put that differently, we have failed to allow the Jesus story to sculpt our imaginations. We must only observe the failures to love neighbor and create space for those on the margins in 2020 and beyond to see the veracity of these claims. This being the case, one of the best things that we evangelicals can do is engage in a deep and long-lasting encounter with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This can serve as a primary practice for developing kingdom imaginations - observing the king again and again and again until he is the lens through which we see the world. We can pursue this goal through various means, but the most readily available is perhaps making the gospels the center of our personal devotion for the foreseeable future. I have heard one evangelical leader speak of reading a chapter a day from the gospels as his central act of devotion. That makes sense for people who seek to emulate Jesus. For ministers out there, it is also interesting to consider how our liturgies lead us into the Jesus story.
For those wondering, yes, I am calling for us to prioritize the gospels over other parts of scripture - at least for a while. In the end, an internalization of the gospels can only help our approach to other parts of scripture. After all, Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises, and much of the New Testament is comprised of letters that seek to bring the Jesus story to bear on particular situations. Focusing on the gospels will not only immerse us regularly in the life of Christ, but also enhance our reading of the rest.
If we are to live as exiles at home, we can take this directive first: Jesus must shape our imaginations. When he does, we will perceive the world and its possibilities in ways that gravitate toward the good God desires.
Thank you for this “directive.” It does sound like the best place to start (and stay for a time). During the two summers prior to the emergence of the pandemic I had gone through the entire Bible in 90 days (first in traditional order, then in chronological order). God was so kind to give me all that I needed to complete those two summers of reading His Word. Those summers gave me such a panoramic view of what God is doing in this world, how people have always behaved, and how gracious and patient He continues to be to this day. The pandemic has revealed some troubling truths about what we as people who profess Christ believe here in early 21st century America. From the earliest days of the church Jesus has given warnings to us about straying from truth. I pray that we will hear the correction that we need, and that He will give us grace to repent and renew our hearts and minds in His Word.