Reading Scripture Imaginatively

People. Passion. Presence. We need more of each of these as we read scripture to better understand our Creator.

On Sunday, I invited you to get your imagination going:

“Imagine: what if other people have a point, have a perspective that you need to hear? Imagine: what if you read the Bible as a love story about God’s passion for you? Imagine: what if you allow God’s story to become your story, what if you put yourself in the story or, better yet, the story in you?”

Pastor Jason, from Sunday’s message “Imagine: People, Passion, Presence”

Today I want to give you a very practical tool for doing just what I invited you to do. Here it is:

How to read scripture imaginatively.

1. Choose a story, parable, poem or song from scripture. Maybe start with a story about Jesus from the gospels. Read it through slowly. Read it twice, slowly.
2. Next, put the Bible down and try to imagine the story. Decide who you are in the story. Are you a character in the story or maybe part of a crowd watching? Are you participating in the story or watching it as an observer? Don’t spend much time choosing. Go with what seems natural.
3. Now, try to imagine the scene. What do you see? Even more, what do you hear and smell and feel? Where are you? Inside or outside? What is the room like? What is the weather like? What clothes are people wearing? What can you touch near you? What sounds are you aware of?
4. Next, play the story in your imagination from beginning to end. What do the characters say? If Jesus is in the story, what does He say and do? Does He have anything to say to you? Imagine how you feel and how you would respond to the characters, their words, their actions, and their attitudes.
5. When you are done, spend some time in prayer talking to God about what you have imagined. Be honest. Be grateful. Don’t talk through the whole prayer. Allow God the opportunity to speak back to you.
6. Finally, spend a few minutes writing about your experience. Use a journal or paper or notepad. Be sure to write down the feelings, thoughts, and desires that were important or significant to you as you imagined the story.

If you will try this step-by-step guide out several times this week and next, then the stories of faith just may open up to you in ways you never thought about. At the very least, the stories of God, God’s people and Jesus will begin to fill your heart, mind, and soul as you spend time with them. And God will, no doubt, be smiling down upon you as a beloved parent pleased with their child.

Connecting Our Faith Family

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