Once again OC comes up with a fascinating concept: the starvation of our imagination of God.
“The people of God in Isaiah’s day had starved their imagination by looking on the face of idols, and Isaiah made them look up at the heavens, that is, he made them begin to use their imagination aright.”
I wonder what OC would think of the state of imagination today. Looks like the movie “Avatar” will set records for attendance and sweep the Academy awards. It is without question the most “imaginative” movie I have ever seen. It is just the most recent and most dramatic example of the state of imagination today. We are bombarded with imaginative images and concepts. I think that very avalanche has starved our individual imaginations and particularly our imagination of God. In our media intense world the need to imagine is virtually eliminated. Movies in 3D, video games and constant exposure to television replace individual imagination. The Art of Reading is dying. To read requires the application of imagination as our minds turns the printed word into self-created visions that make up the story line. We don’t do much of that anymore.
Starvation for the imagination of God is at an all time high. Isaiah’s solution was to turn the people’s eyes to the heavens. When we are bombarded with “creative” images, our thoughts and admiration flow to the creators of those images. We need to absorb the wonder of God’s creation to have our thoughts and admiration flow to the Creator of all.
“Nature to a saint is sacramental. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in Nature. In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign of the sky, in every blossoming and in every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it.”
Remove yourself for a while from our stimulus rich artificial worlds. Get into God’s creation. Get outside. Walk on the “wild” side. Absorb his magnificent creation. Feed your imagination for God and
Be blessed.
Nick
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