The ability to think, to reason, is one of God’s greatest gifts to man. With this faculty he can apprehend God’s revelation of truth, search out the mysteries of the world in which we live, harness the forces of nature, and understand the laws that govern them; in so doing he can realize more and more of God’s wisdom, power, and glory and at the same time advance the art of living.
Imagination is the ability to form mental images, conceptions, or notions and to devise theories from which practical applications may proceed. New inventions result from a combination of known factors with unproven theories until there is worked out a device with a specific use. Many of the great discoveries in science are the result of vivid imaginations.
We all owe much to the imaginative quality of the mind, which delivers life from the static into the realm of continuing material progress.
There is an area, however, where the imagination becomes an offense to God, the source of sinful acts of every kind. Our Lord pinpoints the fruits of evil imaginations in these words: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man” (Matt. 15:19, 20).
Prior to the Flood, evil imaginations had run riot, with devastating effect: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Has the present world progressed in this area? What is God’s estimate of the imaginations of men’s hearts today?
The Bible makes it plain that the imagination permitted to roam at will is a destroying demon. Fed by the inward fires of lust, avarice, jealousy, pride, and selfishness, it is, even for the true Christian, the last frontier to surrender to the cleansing and redemptive work of the living Christ.
We Christians are prone to rationalize ungoverned imaginations with the excuse that no one knows of these thoughts and they are therefore marginal in their importance and effect; but the God with whom we have to do searches and knows every thought and intent of the heart, every imagination of the mind, every evil desire we harbor and even revel in. “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7) brings little comfort to those who would rationalize evil imaginations, for we are confronted with an all-knowing God who sees us as we are and not as we would have him, or man, think us to be.
This is an area where every Christian needs to do some real heart-searching. Certainly some people allow their imaginations to run unbridled and overactive, to conjure up evil thoughts, desires, and plans. Others let their imaginations lead them into useless and often harmful worry. The psychosomatic diseases have their origin as imagined ills. A characteristic of our world today is the feeding of the imaginative faculties of the mind through evil or suggestive pictures, books, and other stimuli.
How many of us would be willing to stand before a camera able to produce a picture, not of our outward appearance, but of the thoughts of the heart?
How many of us would dare stand in a court of justice to be judged, not by our acts, but by our imaginations?
God does know our thoughts; he knows the wicked imaginations we so readily foster. The Bible makes it plain that these things are to be conquered, to be overcome, as truly as are the outward sins of the flesh. In Second Corinthians 10:5 we read, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
This is not a matter of self-reformation any more than is our personal salvation. The fourth verse of the passage just quoted tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.”
There must be a conscious act of substitution. Paul spells this out with the utmost clarity: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8).
David permitted a temptation to give birth to an evil imagination. This led to adultery and then to murder. Later, under deep conviction and with a penitent heart he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). David realized that his sins needed forgiveness and also a change of heart, and the same is true for us today.
There is no doubt as to Christ’s willingness to forgive, nor is there any limit to his mercy. He has provided the cleansing power of his blood, shed on Calvary, the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and the indwelling presence of that same Spirit, our continuing help in time of temptation.
That we are prone to presume on God’s grace is a matter of unfortunate experience. Secure in the knowledge that we have been redeemed, we have the tendency to feel that the victory is won and the battle ended, losing sight of the fact that while redemption is a once-for-all experience, sanctification is an unending process of growth into the likeness of the One who has redeemed.
The channeling of the imagination into right paths is a part of spiritual growth, just as the transformation of ideals and behavior is also a part of the renewing of our minds so that we may prove without question or doubt that which is “good and acceptable and perfect” in the will of God for us.
To practice the presence of Christ and see his beauty involves both our wills and our faith. During World War II, a mother visiting her son in boot camp was distressed to see the “pin-up” pictures that decorated the walls of his room. She said nothing but on returning home sent him a copy of Hoffman’s picture of Christ in the temple. Because it came from his mother, he hung it on his wall to please her. Day by day the picture haunted him because it seemed so out of place.
Finally there came the day when every “pin-up” was removed and there remained only the portrayal of his Lord.
Evil imaginations are an affront to the one we claim as Saviour and Lord. They should be cast down as any other idols, and in their place He should reign alone.
