Some people see things only in concrete terms. They are unable to see in the abstract. We need to be imaginative as well as constructive. Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Many things once written about in science fiction novels and comics are now part of everyday life. Remember Dick Tracey’s 1940s wrist radio? Fundamentals have their place in defining and upholding beliefs but should not limit prophetic vision.
Joseph was pictured prophetically as “a fruitful bough by a well” whose branches would “run over the wall” (Genesis 49:22). That happened when as a slave he went down into Egypt but kept ‘growing’ up, over and beyond restrictive situations. Likewise, we can enjoy what we have but we can grow up, over and beyond limits, into greater and more fruitful areas of productivity.
The Pharisees could not do that; neither can other unnecessarily restrictive religions. It is imperative that we hold fast to beliefs which are fundamental to the Christian Faith. However, while foundational and immovable, they are there to be built on. Or extended, as the Christian Faith was from Mideastern Judaism to a Worldwide Faith — a growth that began when Paul responded to The Macedonian Call.
The important thing is not to disrupt the foundation and then accept doctrines that deny it. Paul’s “all things are yours” approach in First Corinthians 3:21-23 provides an insight into his ‘beyond’ manner of thinking. Those who think only literally are unable to think figuratively. All things are ours, so nothing from God is not.
Literal thinking was once the case in the Philippines until late in the 20th century, but when the US moved out Filipinos began to think figuratively as well as literally. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore but then raised their imagination from earth heavenward by telling him that they would be as numerous as the stars. “A mind stretched by a new idea never returns to its original dimension.”
The prophetic gift works within the boundaries of the Bible, yet it also elaborates and expounds in metaphors, terms, and ‘word pictures’ which enable us to envision things beyond our limited understanding.
Just as Joseph’s “over the wall” branch remained connected to the well, its life-source, so too must our strong connection to the inspired Word of God, no matter how venturesome may be our ‘up and over’ spiritual growth and activities. If you are a ‘beyond’ kind of believer, those who are less so may regard you as Over the Top, not realizing that you are simply being led to go where they could not and to do what they cannot. Which does not make either you or them less valuable, just different.
Five months ago, Lorraine and I stood together in Christchurch, in Dorset, UK. Our visit was nearing its end. My deeply spiritual yet practical wife said to me: “I suppose you are thinking of coming back.” My answer was: “I’ve been home and am back already in my heart.” I didn’t just mean it. I knew it. Imagination may indeed be more important than knowledge, but revelation is more important than imagination.