Would you use the words intimacy and imagination in the same sentence at church? I sure wouldn’t. Intimacy brings to mind sexual conduct (or misconduct) these days, rather than multifaceted, whole-hearted relationships. Sadly, our culture distorts the word intimate so we hardly recognize it anymore. Yet, we can brace a whole new way of thinking through intimacy reimagined.
Similarly, with so many ways to declare our status on social media, our status devolves daily. Single or married? Employed or retired? Blond, brunette, or gray with blue tones? Thankfully, as Easter approaches, Christians celebrate intimacy reimagined.
Easters Past
Like a time traveler, in my imagination, I travel back to the 1960s. Ah, the Easters of my childhood! The gloves. New straw hats with yellow ribbons and velvety flowers. Sitting still in church. Belting out resurrection hymns in pipe organ stanza, like soldiers marching to deeply ancient tunes. After church, free at last in the warm Spring sunshine. Finally, dashing for eggs, bright spots of color in newly green grass. Days spent in naive splendor, safe from the harm to come.
Little did I know then, the need I would acquire for a Savior. Looking back, the imaginings of my childhood could not possibly contain my future. As adults, we use our imagination to pretend we don’t have any regrets. Stealthily, we hide away our regrets lest anyone should suspect.
Intimacy ReImagined: Different Kind of Companionship
Lovingly, Jesus sees our status in an entirely different way. Amazingly, He recognizes we are valuable and significant, simply because He loves us. Intimacy reimagined allows us to experience a kind of intimacy previously unimaginable. Astonishingly, He desires a sacred intimacy with us. Intimacy reimagined challenges us to cherish our own worth as He cherishes us. (Sign up for our weekly blog on how to spark companionship in all our relationships.)
Jesus’s commitment cost Him sacrificially. Who does THAT? In John 4 of the Bible, we read that Jesus offered the woman at the well an intimate picture of Himself in the deepest recesses of His identity. Openly, He presented His true status to her. What could be more sacred? Like her, intimacy reimagined challenges us all to accept the truth about Him.
“The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” (John 4:25-26)
Sharing The Most Intimate Truth
Fortunately, she was watching for the Christ, the promised Messiah, i.e. the One who saves. Clearly, Jesus claimed the title by referencing an Old Testament conversation between God and Moses in Exodus 3:14. Since God exists beyond human imagination or description, intimacy with Him calls for imagination. So, when Moses asks God for His name, God tells Moses to tell the others “I am who I am.” Sharing His most intimate truth opened the door for true fellowship between them. The woman at the well understood Jesus’s claim.
Miraculously, when Jesus told her the most intimate truth about Himself, she believed. For her, intimacy reimagined morphed into reality.
Her Questions: Evidence of Her Imagination
However, she did not believe without giving the idea some serious thought before He arrived. Like her, intimacy reimagined challenges us all to imagine God as He truly is.
In fact, when the kind stranger arrived, her good questions demonstrated her problem with religiosity. Boldly, she even went so far as to hold Him accountable to answer about the hypocrisy of religious leaders who misrepresent God. Wow! My kinda woman!
For some time, she previously occupied her mind with imagining the Savior. Her imagination prepared her to recognize His claim of Savior status based on their conversation. Finally, the moment came when she understood. Jesus answered her heart’s yearning for the Savior.
Imagination: Preparation for Faith
Against all odds, the Savior came to her town to talk to her, of all people. Amazingly, she demonstrates the insight to expect and watch for Him. You might say He rewarded her anticipation with an unexpected visit. But, how unexpected was it really? She imagined it all along. How could one woman exhibit so much faith?
Crazy Imagination
The author of Hebrews describes faith for us in many ways, but here’s one of my personal favorites. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
With imagination, we are able to ponder the possibilities no matter how crazy. I don’t know about you, but imagining God sends my brain into overdrive. Nevertheless, imagination is a key ingredient to faith. (For interviews with heroic experts about how to use imagination for your family’s benefit, click here. ) Intimacy reimagined calls us to faith.
Faith: Intimacy ReImagined
Reading this beautiful account of Jesus’s conversational adventure with the woman at the well, I wonder if I would have had the courage to look for Him with such anticipation. Honestly, I doubt it. Looking back at my own experience of coming to faith, I found it hard to imagine that the Savior wanted me, of all people. (For our weekly blog on tough topics and creating intimate companionship, sign up here. ) Perhaps we all feel unworthy on some level.
Ah, to know Him well, as our dearest Friend and Companion! Fortunately for us all, God does not judge and condemn us the way we judge ourselves and self-condemn. While we are busy disqualifying ourselves, He cuts through our foolish negative self-assumptions and tenderly qualifies us for a relationship with Him.
Bright Eggs, Happy Smiles, Warm Relationships.
His friendship requires only one thing from us: we accept the price He paid for our sin on the cross. He offers to save us. We simply accept the gift. Accepting is our choice. The Savior of the world has come to each of us and offered the dearest kind of intimacy ever known to humankind; intimacy with God Himself. Oh, please choose to be His friend!
Cherished by Him, we no longer need to hide in fear of human rejection. We begin to bloom. We imagine a life lived with Him. (For more on community and companionship, sign up here.)
When we base our confidence on His status, not our own, we find the freedom to present ourselves openly to others as well. This faith ripples out into all our relationships. Almost before we can imagine it, we experience intimacy and companionship in new, healthy ways beyond our imagination.
Like the Easters of my youth, I hope your Easter includes bright eggs, happy smiles, warm sunshine and warm relationships. If you’ve ever wondered if God could possibly cherish you, may I assure you He does! Most of all, dear one, I pray you know His intimate love for you every day. Faith is intimacy reimagined. May you choose tons of it!
May we pray together?
Dear Father, You revealed Yourself to us in the most intimate way, through the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son. We can hardly imagine the love You expressed to us in Him. May we have the courage and imagination to believe that You want to be our life-long Companion? Help our hearts make a place for You in the deepest recesses of our soul, we pray, O Lord! In Jesus’s name. Amen.
We love to hear from you!
How have you used imagination to bring others into a new relationship with the Savior? What creative blessings do you have in store for our family this Easter? What are your favorite old-time hymns and why? (Please leave comments in the box at the end of this post. It means so much to us when you do!)
How Can We Serve You?
To get a great conversation going in your home or at church, just pop in one of our many podcasts. At Camp Krafve, we love taking on tough topics on Fireside Talk Radio. (To suggest a topic or guest, leave us a message in he comment box below.) You can get our conversational adventures delivered straight to your inbox, here. At Camp Krafve, we create tools to maximize companionship.
As Christians, our podcasts and blogs can easily spark up conversational adventures for our family or Sunday school class! Churches catch fire with enthusiasm as people get free of their burdens. Whole communities can change because of one courageous person, like YOU! For more conversational adventures, sign up for the latest on tough topics and creative ideas, all related to companionship.
Free Printable Templates For Fun Family Time!
Yep, just in time for Easter, something super fun to do with your kids! Our darling printable templets are perfect for a Sunday school craft or entertaining. What kid doesn’t love glue, scissors, and sharing chocolate?! They are the perfect homemade treat to let friends or neighbors know they are loved. Sign up for our blog and get your free templets here!
Or, find lots more easy ideas about spending time with creative kids from Anna Krafve Pierce, here. Coming soon: Got the Thank You Note Blues? Happily, if you or your teenager struggle to write thank you notes, watch for our “Foolproof Thank You Notes” cheatsheet, available here soon!
More Stories and Wisdom to Bless Our Hearts
If you, too, are committed to sharing truth gently and effectively, we want to encourage you! Joyfully, we’ve interviewed experts. Don’t miss their stories and wisdom, shared just for you on Fireside Talk Radio: Grace English, Marina Schroeder, Mary Ottman, Darlene Marshal, Sandra Beck, Katie Butts, Marcie McSwane, and Doug McSwane, to name just a few more people we find heroic.
Cathy Krafve, host of Fireside Talk Radio, Speaker, Blogger, Podcaster, and Christian Communicator, invites your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com. Truth with a Texas Twang spoken here!
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