Imagination is defined as ‘the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.’ I have been pondering this definition for some time now whilst meditating on Romans 4:17, where Abraham is said to have believed in ‘the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.’

Eugene Peterson, in his book ‘Subversive Spirituallity’, says ‘imagination is the capacity to make connections between the visible and the invisible, between heaven and earth, between present and past and future. For Christians, whose largest investment is in the invisible, the imagination is indispensable, for it is only by means of the imagination that we can see reality which is in context. What imagination does with reality is the reality we live by.’

(For further discussion of these thoughts, here is a conversation on the topic of story-telling and the role of imagination in this which Eugene Peterson held in 2007.)

Brennan Manning has said ‘Illusion is a denial of reality, while imagination creates and calls forth new reality that has not yet come to birth.’ (Brennan Manning, ‘A Glimpse of Jesus’) This is rather like the Biblical description of what God does in calling into being things that were not. We often acknowledge God as Creator, but man, made in God’s image, is also creative and the imagination is one thing which distinguishes man from the animals and perhaps one way in which man is linked to God.

Illusion often involves deception of some kind, a distortion of reality. Think of the way advertisers or magicians use illusion to make us believe something that is not necessarily true! Imagination is not the same thing at all. Imagination helps us to see the invisible and to put life into context. For, as Eugene Peterson also reminds us, “most of what makes up human existence is inacessible to our five sense: emotions, thoughts, dreams, love, hope, character, purpose, belief.” (‘Subversive Spirituality’) Imagination (and particularly the use of metaphor) helps us to connect what we see, hear, touch and experience with that invisible, intangible world we perceive only by faith. To be sure, our imaginations need to be sanctified (just as our whole lives need to be sanctified!), but imagination can also be a powerful tool to help us find new reality.

Garry’s rather grandiose alliterative title (for which I can, sadly, claim no credit…) summarised both the whole book of James (which we finally completed studying tonight, having started in April 2012!) and the last two verses in chapter 5 (the focus of tonight’s study.)

We started, however, by looking at the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-23). Here, Jesus talks about the different kinds of soil, looking at the rocky ground and the thorny ground. Just as a lack of roots causes seeds not to grow and thorns (the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth) choke the word, so James has highlighted the problems in our lives which would cause us to stumble if left unchecked. Jesus says that ‘when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away’ (Matt 13:21). James has taught us to accept trouble and persecution, the trials and temptations of this life, with open arms since we learn perseverance and develop character through them. He has also taught us how to avoid the pitfalls of wealth: by shunning favouritism and by not putting our trust in material riches.

The whole book of James has been eminently practical, offering us solutions to the many problems we face on life’s journey. Now, James reminds us that we have a collective responsibility to each other as well as an individual responsibility to maintain our spiritual walk with God. We all have a sheep-like tendency to wander from the truth (the word ‘wander’ is the same used in Matt 18:12 in the parable of the lost sheep and is also found in Matt 22:29 – ‘you are in error’ – and Gal 6:7 – ‘do not be deceived.’) Israel’s history in the wilderness and the cycle of Judges shows us the tendency to wander from the truth which remains prevalent today (‘Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it/ Prone to leave the God I love!’) It is easy for us to forget all that God has said and done and to follow false gods. Anything that comes before God (however innocuous in itself) becomes an idol and we we need to be quick to understand the fragility and temptations which befall our hearts.

James reminds us that we have a ‘duty of care’ for each other. We are now in the family of God; we need each other and need to watch each other’s backs. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd went looking for the one lost sheep. We too need to be vigilant and seek to help those who are struggling (see also Gal 6:1-9). This is not a task reserved only for the pastor; ‘whoever’ can be involved! We need to shun the individual isolationism of Western society and recognise the Biblical need for interdependence. That will inevitably mean getting to know people (how can we know they are wandering from the truth unless we know them?) and caring enough to respond in practical ways.

The debate about whether Christians can lose their salvation has been discussed for centuries. Whatever our views on the topic of apostasy, there is a need for the family of God to be like the trapeze artist’s safety net. We need to be willing to confront each other gently, holding out the word of life and being prepared to both love and challenge each other. It is not easy to do this, for we risk offending people and are often indifferent to each other’s needs. Nonetheless, James concludes his book with a reminder of the eternal significance of these actions and the collective responsibility of God’s people.

Since Mark’s sermon on Jeremiah 6:16 (The Dream Cross Code), I have been thinking a lot about signposts. A crossroads without signposts isn’t much use: how do you know which way you’re supposed to take if there are no signposts?! And some signs aren’t that helpful at all. This one in France always makes me smile (one arrow points one way proclaiming ‘all directions’ whilst the other points in the opposite direction proclaiming ‘other directions’!):

At the National Railway Museum in York yesterday, one of the new exhibits is a ‘typical’ railway signpost with some decidedly untypical signs!

In case you can’t read the signs, they say:
* ‘Late again, miss the train’
* ‘Single or return?’
* ‘I left it on the 3.15’
* ‘One last kiss goodbye’
* ‘Bustle and confusion’

I’m not sure those signs would be terribly helpful at a train station, but Psalm 119 has some other useful advice about signs: “How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.” (Ps 119:9) Another verse from that psalm says “Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner.”

When we are at the crossroads, we can know that God will give us the signposts we need to make wise choices and that there is grace available for us to walk in His ways. The people of Israel did not make a wise choice according to Jeremiah: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it,and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jer 6:16) They refused to take the right path and refused to listen to God (see also verse 17). God’s warning to the church at Laodicea, as to all the churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3, is ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Rev 3:22) We need to be grateful for the road signs and signposts that God gives us and we need to heed what He says to us. There is no substitute for obedience.

Mark started last night’s sermon by asking us to define ‘cool’: is it defined by the way you dress, by the things you own (big house, swimming pool, fast car etc.), by the gadgets you possess? The problem with defining ‘cool’ is that it is very subjective: young people may think it’s cool to dress one way (low-slung jeans, for example, which apparently make it difficult to walk normally and which reveal all manner of underwear and bare flesh…!) whilst others think that’s just plain daft! Hairstyles are one area where there’s great experimentation, but it’s a fine line between looking stylish and foolish.

Mark used a microwave to demonstrate how a flat pack of popcorn (which would definitely be inedible) can be transformed into buttery, edible popcorn:

That could definitely be counted as cool!

Coolness in the Bible is not always something to be admired, however. The church at Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22) thought they were successful and pleasing God. Laodicea was famous for producing black wool (which was used to make rugs and carpets), for being a rich banking city and for eye ointment: all things which made it stand out from its neighbours. But God’s opinion of the church there was far from complimentary: He described them as ‘wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.’

The reason for this judgment was that they were neither hot nor cold; they were lukewarm – a state which God says prompts Him to ‘spit you out of my mouth’ (Rev 3:17). Other versions talk about vomiting or spewing – strong words indeed.

It was not that the Laodicean church was not doing things, but their motivation and attitude towards God were clearly not right. They were no longer on fire for God and were not serving Him whole-heartedly. In some ways, it is very easy to just ‘go through the motions’ with regard to our Christian walk, but God sees our hearts and knows what we are really like on the inside. Being lukewarm is like trying to drink tepid tea: the instinct is to spit it out because it is not what it should be!

God’s solution for this church was counsel ‘to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.’ (Rev 3:18) They needed spiritual gold (not the ‘stuff’ that the world considers necessary to be cool); robes of righteousness (not the fashion items the world deems cool) and spiritual vision (not the eye ointment for which the city was famous). God disciplines His children (see Hebrews 12:5-6) out of love. Our primary task must be to love God with all we are and have and to hear what He is saying to the churches: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 3:22) That way, we avoid the peril of thinking we’re cool when all we really are are fools.

With the advent of spring finally reaching Goldthorpe, the family service last night looked at the theme of ‘coolness’. This can, of course, be taken in a number of ways! We started with a wordsearch on ice creams to get us into the Bank Holiday mood:

There were many different answers (pistachio, strawberry, vanilla, cookie dough etc.), but here’s a photo of a huge ice cream to keep us on topic!

As usual, there were prizes for the winners:

… including cool sunglasses:

‘Being cool’ is a hard thing to define. For some, ‘the Fonz’ was the epitome of cool:

This is one person’s idea of ‘cool’:

Others may think of fashion, fast cars or fame when they think of this word, but Mark had other ideas…

Abraham is our ‘faith father’ when it comes to the journey of faith. This morning, we looked at how he models faith for us and shows us how to be those who are “willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God’s action for them” (Rom 4:12, The Message)

We are first introduced to Abraham (then called ‘Abram’, ‘exalted father’) in Genesis 11 and in Genesis 12:1-5 we hear God’s call to him and his response to that in setting out from Harran on a journey which would occupy him for the next one hundred years! He set out on a journey of faith, not really knowing what to expect, not really knowing where he was going, simply knowing that God was speaking to him and believing that that was enough. Hebrews 11:8 says ‘By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going’. We don’t always have all the answers as we set out to walk by faith, but the key question is not whether we can understand what God is saying to us but whether we will obey. Understanding often comes later on in the process: what precedes it is obedience.

Abram’s initial response to God in setting out on this journey of faith is the beginning of his adventures. Our initial response to God in setting out on the journey of the faith is also the beginning of our salvation adventures. The journey starts when we realise we cannot save ourselves and have to receive God’s gift of righteousness by faith (see Romans 1-3). That has to be a personal response to God and will always seem risky! But just as we start the journey by faith, so we must continue by faith: ‘we live by faith, not by sight.’ (2 Cor 5:7) Paul had strong words for the Galatian church which started off well enough by faith but then believed they had to continue by works! (Gal 3:3) Abraham journeyed to many different places throughout his life, and at each place, he received further revelation from God and that deepened his relationship with God. Time and time again in the story we read how that happens and Abram responds in worship and with sacrifices. Wherever he went, it seems he ‘built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the Lord.’ (Gen 12:8)

Abraham shows us how to start our journey of faith: by hearing God, obeying God, embracing what God says and does for us, no matter what it may look like to the natural eye.

He shows us how to continue to walk in faith, having that deepening relationship with God and continuing to respond to each revelation God gives him with worship and sacrifice and obedience – even when what God is saying doesn’t seem to make sense, as will happen many times over this hundred year journey!

And he shows us how to end the journey, still looking ahead to all that God has for him, eyes on the eternal city built by God (Hebrews 11:9-16):

“Oh, the glorious day when we arrive
And Heaven’s gates are opened wide
All our fear and pain will fade away
When we see You
Face to face,
Our Great and Awesome King .
You will reign in brilliant light
Forever glorified
In Your city
And we, Your daughters and Your sons ,
Will see the kingdom come
In Your city.” (‘In Your City’, Phil Wickham)
‘In Your City’, Phil Wickham