So why is our imagination so limited?

By Archdeacon Alexander Pryor

Do we believe the words we say? As Christians we believe that words really matter. It was with words that God spoke creation into being. It was through words that the Father first promised that the offspring of woman would crush the serpent’s head. It was with a word – “it is finished” – that Christ declared that promise was fulfilled. Words matter.

In the Book of Alternative Services, we so often repeat the post-communion prayer “Glory to God, whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine…” (Ephesians 3:20-21) But do we believe it? Even a little bit?

Faith can be hard work, especially when life is tough, people are tired, and things don’t work out as we hoped. We live in a fallen world, so one thing that is guaranteed is that there will never be a shortage of reasons to doubt and despair.

But, we proclaim God can do more than we can ask or imagine. What would start happening if we put that into action?

I don’t know what your vestry meetings are like, but in my experience, sometimes the very best we can imagine is to keep on doing what we’ve always done. (And, when people are burnt out, sometimes even that seems like it would require a miracle!)

The problem though, when we test that thinking against scripture, is that God teaches us the opposite. God doesn’t tell us to dream small or “be realistic”. Instead, we’re to be faithful and trust. Like Israel marching around Jericho for a week (hardly a sensible battle plan!), we’re to trust that what God has in mind is simply too good for us to even begin to comprehend with our limited vision and understanding. We don’t believe that God will fulfill our hopes and dreams… instead, our hopes and dreams are much too small compared to what God would do, if only we’ll remain faithful and stop getting in the way, slamming on the brakes, and pridefully telling the Almighty God who created the universe how we know better than He does.

There are many days I feel like a fool. I’m no accountant, but I’ve been working with numbers and managing budgets for 20 years. My human mind says “tighten the belt” “batten down the hatches”, “trim the fat”, the church in the south is shrinking, our grant from them is going down, we need to prepared for hard times ahead. But then I remember that words matter, that God has given us a mission, and He provides in ways I can’t understand. So I walk downstairs and tell the office staff that we’re forging ahead by faith.

Jesus is not the lord of retreating, His kingdom isn’t shrinking, and His Gospel certainly won’t fade into the background of the noise around us. No! “He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you…” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).

It’s time to grow. It’s time to expand. It’s time to hire more ministers for more communities, to throw gas on the fire of ATTS to train everyone who will come forward and discern with them how God is calling them to serve. Yes, it will definitely mean we sometimes have the pain of acknowledging that this or that plan or project or beloved thing missed the mark or isn’t serving it’s purpose anymore, but let’s speak words of hope, even ridiculous hope!

Why? Because God’s power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we could even imagine! To Him be the glory, now and forever more.