The Imagination of God

Scripture — Genesis 1:26-27 (NRSV)

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Devotion

Does God have an imagination? Questions like this intrigue me. But I also feel a measure of trepidation when I try to answer them. After all, one of the truest things we can say about God is that God exceeds our ability to understand fully who God is. Moreover, human beings have a way of projecting onto God whatever they would like God to be like. Aware of my own tendency to do this, I nevertheless believe that the God who is revealed to us in the Word Written and the Word Incarnate does indeed have an imagination.

In yesterday’s devotion, I showed how Jesus used his imagination in his teaching, mainly but not only in his parables. If, as I believe, Jesus is the Word Incarnate, God in human flesh, then the fact that Jesus had an imagination suggests an affirmative answer to the question “Does God have an imagination?”

Further support for this answer comes from the first chapter of the Bible. There, as God is creating the universe – which we could see as the ultimate expression of imagination – we come upon the creation of human beings. Here’s how the story is told:

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26-27).

Surely this suggests that God has an imagination. Earlier in this devotional series, I referred to Merriam-Webster’s definition of “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.” That pretty much describes what God was doing in Genesis 1:26. God “saw” what did not yet exist, namely beings who reflect God’s own image and likeness. Then, in light of that vision, God “created humankind in his image” (1:27). The way Genesis 1 tells the story reminds us of an artist who imagines a painting and then paints what had been imagined.

Matthew Ristuccia and Gene Veith, Jr., authors of Imagination Redeemed, summarize their book in an article entitled “10 Things You Should Know About the Imagination.” Their third “thing” states:

Imagination is a facet of the image of God. The human imagination is not only a great gift of God; it is also an aspect of the image of God. His creative imagination is such that he created the universe from nothing. His mind perceives the past, the present, and the future.

If the imagination is the act of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses, then God’s imagination is revealed, not only in the first chapter of the Bible but in hundreds that follow. Consider, for example, the prophetic visions found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets. God “sees” what is coming in the future even though it doesn’t yet exist. Often God’s visions are filled with brilliant colors, strange beasts, and puzzling symbols, which reveal the unique power and freedom of the divine imagination.

In tomorrow’s devotion, I’ll consider further the implications of Genesis 1:26-27 for our understanding of the imagination. For now, I’d encourage you to reflect on the imagination of God as revealed in Scripture, first of all, and then in nature.

Banner image by Beth Jnr on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God Works Relationally (Genesis 1:26a).

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