Maybe we should spend more time imagining who god is

​We become what we imagine.

Maybe you don't believe that, but watch a few commercials on television and you'll quickly discover a lot of businesses and companies out there believe it.

They want you to imagine the you who can't live without the newest iphone - and have you decide that you can't.

They want you to imagine that you can't have fun or a good time without alcohol - and have you decide that you can't.

They want you to imagine you're the only person on the planet who hasn't watched Ozark - and have you decide you need to spend the next 24 hours fixing that.

There's also social media quietly asking us every day, non-stop, to imagine what it would be like to be someone else - as if who you are isn't good enough.

There's the big houses and the fancy cars we pass every day begging us to imagine what our lives would look life if we could only upgrade them.

Life wants us to be in a constant longing for an upgrade.

Most days the noise of this world is all about people and things and circumstances competing to be center stage in our imagination, convincing us they can be that upgrade.

Because who and what we spend most of our time imagining we'll be - we'll that's what we'll spend most of our time trying to become.

But you know, to Christians, God said we were made in his image. We don't have to listen to the noise of this world to figure out who we are. In fact, we should spend most of our time trying to quiet the distractions that want nothing more than for us to believe we have no idea who we are. That way the world can clear that up for us.

The healthiest use of our imagination would be imagining who God is. The more time we spend imagining who God is, the more time we'll find ourselves letting him shape who we are, not the latest Budweiser or Apple commercials.

Over and over the bible tells us God is love. And that love is most visible in how we treat one another.

I think God is saying turn off the TV. Go sit quietly on a trail or a park bench. I think God is saying open up your bible or your devotional and imagine. Imagine that God loves you and loves all of your neighbors in spite of the things you've heard about them or said about them. Imagine that the people we think ill of God wants to love the most. Imagine all these things.

And then become what you imagine.