Hopeful Imagination

Scripture — Romans 8:24-25 (NRSV)

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Devotion

Several weeks ago I began this devotional series, Imagination: Redeemed and Redemptive. In the first devotion of the series, I noted that Merriam-Webster defines “imagination” as “the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.” We can imagine something that exists in reality. For example, at this moment I am “seeing” the Statue of Liberty in my imagination. We can also imagine something that does not currently exist or may not ever exist in reality, such as the Statue of Liberty dancing to the Bee Gees’ hit song, “Stayin’ Alive.” (YouTube confirms that I am not the first to imagine such a thing.)

If the imagination has to do with “forming a mental image of something not present to the senses,” then Romans 8:24-25 makes a strong connection between imagination and hope. Paul makes it clear that hope is all about what we cannot see with our eyes: “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” (8:24). In fact, Paul writes, “We hope for what we do not see.”

Yet, as Christians, we do hope, and our hope isn’t just a feeling. Rather, it is filled with content. As Paul explains earlier in Romans 8, we experience the whole creation, including ourselves, in “bondage to decay” and “groaning in labor pains” (8:22-23). Yet we envision a time in the future when “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage” and we will experience “the redemption of our bodies” (8:21, 23). As we envision such freedom and redemption, we are profoundly exercising our redemptive imagination.

It’s worth saying once again that, by speaking of imagination, I’m not meaning we get to make it all up. Our vision of the future is inspired and molded by God’s revelation given to us in Scripture. It’s also worth remembering that when the Bible speaks of hope, it is not referring to wishful thinking. We have confident hope because that for which we hope has been revealed to us by God who is faithful to fulfill all the divine promises.

Hope lives in our imagination. And since we do not now see that for which we hope, we must wait. Paul says “We wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25). That’s surely true, though sometimes such patience is not easily found. When we experience the brokenness of this world, including our own personal brokenness, we join “the whole creation” in “groaning.” We long for that which we cannot see, except in our imagination. We ache for healing, restoration, justice, blessing, and peace.

Though we find it difficult to wait patiently for the shalom that is to come, we have plenty of divine help. After speaking about waiting with patience, Paul continues, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with signs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). When we struggle to find hope, when we have difficulty waiting patiently, the Spirit of God “helps us in our weakness.”

Hopeful imagination comes not from our personal effort to “look on the bright side” or “have a good attitude.” Rather, we can imagine the goodness of God’s future because God has revealed it to us, however incompletely. Moreover, when we find it hard to hope, the Spirit of God helps us, praying for us and inspiring our imaginations to “see” the goodness of God’s future.

Banner image by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Hope Now.

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