I'm Thankful for Imagination

Each day until Thanksgiving, Everyday Truth is looking at a different reason to be thankful in a family devotional. Use these devotionals with your kids to help keep your family focused on giving thanks. If you missed the introductory post, check it out here for directions on creating a "Thanksgiving wall." When you're done with the devotional head on over to the Everyday Truth Facebook page and join in the discussion of why we're thankful for imagination.

Let me tell you a story: Once upon a time there was a boy. He went to school, then he came home.

How did you like my story? Would you keep reading if you picked up a book and that's how it started? I sure wouldn't. So, let's give it another try.

Once upon a time there was a very small boy. He left his house one morning to go to school, but on the way to school he got lost. He found himself in a small village where all the residents were purple and wore funny caps on their heads that looked like shoes. Not sure how he ended up in this strange place, the boy asked one of the purple people with a shoe on his head how to get home. "You can't go home. We need your help," the purple person said.

Would you want to keep reading that story? It was much more interesting, wasn't it? The difference between the two stories is the second one took some imagination. I've never met a purple person with a cap that looks like a shoe on his head, but it makes an interesting picture, doesn't it?

God gave us all an imagination. Imagination is the thing that lets authors write interesting stories. Imagination helps inventors create new things. It even lets scientists think up new hypotheses. Without imagination we would never have sent people into space or seen an art masterpiece. Music would be a single tone. Books would be short and boring.

But imagination can be a dangerous thing. If we make up stories instead of telling the truth, that's a poor use of our imagination. If we make up scenarios that scare us or someone else, that's a poor use of imagination. Imagination is only a good thing when we're using it the way God intended it.

Colossians 3:17 says "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." That means no matter what we're doing -- riding a bike, going to school, playing soccer or using our imaginations -- we should do it in a way that pleases God. Don't let your imagination become a source of fear or a way to hurt others. That's not what God intended.

Be thankful today for all the things our imaginations give us. Thank God for interesting books, beautiful art and great inventions. Write down one thing on your Thanksgiving wall that was created by someone's imagination for which you are thankful. Ask God to help you use your imagination to please Him today.