“It’s just your imagination.” I remember my mom telling me this many times as a child when I would get up in the middle of the night and tell her that I heard a monster moving around in my room. At some point in your life, you’ve probably also been told “it’s just your imagination,” and the phrase was meant to be either comforting or dismissive, implying that reality is not necessarily what is going on inside your head. But that doesn’t mean that the imagination is powerless. In fact, the imagination is one of the most powerful forces on earth. After all, when I heard those monsters in my room, it may have been “just my imagination,” but the fear I felt was very, very real. 

When Jesus came walking out on the water towards the disciples as they were in their boat, fear seized them. They were sure it was a ghost. Their imaginations ran wild, and fear took over. Once Jesus assured them that it was He who approached him, Peter’s imagination took a drastic turn. He went from panicked to utterly confident. He could see himself walking on the water too. He got out of the boat, and he actually took a few successful steps. Then his mind took another turn. He began to look at the reality of what he was doing, and suddenly it seemed illogical. He panicked, and began to sink.

In this short passage of scripture, we are shown repeatedly how powerful our minds, and what we use them to imagine, can be. God gave us our imaginations, and He wants us to use them for good. Like Peter, who by faith could imagine himself walking toward Jesus, God longs for us to utilize our imaginations in faith, capturing His vision, and then creatively finding ways to make that vision happen here on earth. Yes, God is the chief creator, and we are His creation, but miraculously, God calls us to collaborate with Him so that Creator and creation can work together to advance His original vision. In order to do this however, the imagination must be tamed; it must be sanctified.

How do we sanctify the imagination? Just like anything else— by recognizing that we don’t sanctify. We submit it to God and let Him sanctify it, purify it, and redeem it through His grace. And how should we use the imagination? In whatever way God moves us, and in whatever manner that He calls us or inspires us. We are created in the image of the ultimate Creator, and what a wonderful thing it is that the Creator has designed us to collaborate and create with Him.