Finding freedom through imagination

August 23, 2009 • 4 Comments

Recently, I’ve been listening to a series from Greg Boyd called Animate. In his series, Greg talks about how to find true transformation and freedom through our imagination.  He describes how the church has tried in vain to find freedom.  He describes three common attempts:

1. Try Harder

How often have you heard it said, “If you want to overcome this problem, then just try harder.” It’s so engrained in our culture and now it has permeated into the church.  ”To find freedom, you must try harder.” But, it’s not true. While there may be some elements of truth to working harder, it’s not the end-all path to transformation.

2. Wait on God

This is the pendulum swing the other way from “try harder”–just wait on God. Instead of being actively engaged in transformation, this ideology is just to wait on God, wait for transformation to come, wait for God to move, wait for the Holy Spirit to transform.  Again, there are elements of truth to this, but it’s not the solution.

3. More Information

This is another path that is quite common today.  Knowledge.  And, with the Internet so pervasive, we have information at our fingertips.  But, more information is not the solution.  If it were, then the Pharisees would have been perfect. In their time, they were to the keepers of the Biblical information.  But, information does not lead to transformation.

So, where does transformation come from?

More on that later.

  • http://www.brandonrichards.com Brandon

    I think transformation comes by being in His presence. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 its the glory of God that transforms. The glory being His presence.

  • http://www.myjourneywithgod.com Russ Pond

    Have you heard this series? That’s exactly the scripture he uses: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18.

    The key point he makes is the word “beholding”. He says that our imagination must behold something–it must become experiential. So, the more we “behold” him, the more we experience him, the more we are transformed.

  • http://www.brandonrichards.com Brandon

    I have not heard the message, but I’m struggling with the imagination part since our last discussion in regard to ‘the place’. I’ll have to see if I can get the message and listen to it.

  • http://www.myjourneywithgod.com Russ Pond

    After chatting with you and Allan that night at his house, and knowing more of your background, I would be very curious to hear your thoughts on Greg Boyd’s “Animate” series.