Imagine

Imagine that God was in your living room this morning after you got up. You knew He was there because He is everywhere. Did you greet Him with so much as a "good morning"?

Imagine that He was sitting beside you at the breakfast table, waiting to hear from you, and that when the time to pray came you either forgot or recited a too-familiar mantra with little meaning or conviction.

Imagine, as you got into the car and drove to work with the cares of the world on your heart, that God was in the front seat. He could clearly see the pain behind your eyes and was listening closely for your heart to whisper 'Help me!' as you contemplated how to fix things on your own.

Imagine He was by your computer when you logged on and laughed and smiled with your friends, or paid your bills. How nice, if He was able to hear your gratefulness to Him for providing your needs and a loving support system for every day. 

Imagine He saw, too, as you stopped a moment and thought about that one person you just were not okay with at all. He heard your inner dialog about why you did or did not need to speak with them; heard you decide to just forget about it. 

Imagine going about your day at home or at work, walking past Him time and again. He is ever-present, you know. Are we ever-aware?

Imagine God's thoughts about you. The steady stream of "I love you. I am here for you." that we love to believe in, but also imagine the higher call to holiness and knowing that God's deity includes a list of basic rules. Do we check our compliance to them? Do we excuse our 'little' sins as humanity, and get offended at the thought that God actually has the right to require more of us? Are we willing to give that more, not in sacrifice to self, but as a willing gift of love back to Him?

Imagine that God was at work in your heart every minute of every day; changing you from the inside out. Would that change include you monitoring other believers carefully to make sure they do not slip, or would it include a widening of your heart towards the weakness of man and our obvious need for God even after Salvation?

Imagine that God went to church with you, and saw you look the part. He also saw the way you looked at His other children, and whether you offered yourself to them in time of need, or despised and rejected them for having apparent weaknesses. Does God require you to look perfect, or that you love your brother? 

Imagine knowing that when you wear your flaws with humility, you also wear the grace of God before lives that are hurting. Imagine Christianity being a growth process, and not a contest of who is more right or more holy.

Imagine knowing that any child in the room has a more correct view of the Lord than you, because in innocence they willingly learn of Him and are open to change and growth. 

Imagine that God sees you go to bed tonight, and quietly waits for you to thank Him for the safety and mercy He has shown you through the day. Imagine that simply thinking "God understands" as you fall asleep, too tired to pray, maybe is not actually a band aid for the devotion He hoped to find in a person more interested in seeking His counsel and comfort than seeking physical rest.

Imagine that everything stated above applies 100% to me, because it does. I can use these things. I need this imagination, this reminder. I needed it now, and I will need it again, repeatedly, until the day that I die.

Imagine that it IS okay to be a flawed person, always reaching for that crutch. God help me, should the day come that I do not need to lean on Him.