Dream His dream
The 5 Verbs of Learning: Imagine
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
So where does a disciple-maker start to imitate Jesus? He became a physical person; he became flesh or incarnated. To ‘be with‘ the disciples required incarnation. He lived among the disciples. He could have written messages in the sky but he chose to become flesh so they could see who he was.
What are the first steps for learners that lead to incarnation? Learner agency is the ability to choose what to learn. It is taking control of the decisions that enable us to become flesh somewhere. Jesus said it was his decision to lay down his life. A person doesn’t have agency when they blame someone else for their own problems. The lack of agency is the perfect immobilizer against incarnation because we can’t control what ‘others’ do.
The first learning verb, ‘to imagine’, helps us consider our choices and enter the world of God possibilities. We imagine what God might want to do and we dream his dreams.
For Reflection:
- What choices have you made that have helped your relationship with God?
- How are choices affected by imagining?
Make Life Count:
- Think of a specific example where you saw something first in your imagination then which became a reality.
- Tell us a story about first imagining something that then became a reality. What did you do?
Thirsty for More?
- Ask a spiritual leader in your faith community what he or she is imagining that God might do. Ask for prayer that God will touch your imagination.
Learning through incarnation…
