God is not boring

His creation rings with wonders that those with imagination present | John Piper

ON JUNE 26, 1956, C.S. LEWIS ANSWERED A CHILD'S letter asking about how to write. His answer set me thinking about the imagination. He said, "In writing, don't use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is 'terrible,' describe it so that we'll be terrified. Don't say it was 'delightful'; make us say 'delightful' when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, 'Please, will you do my job for me?'"

But imagination is not merely a device for writers, it is a duty for all Christians. We must exercise it or be disobedient. I don't say this because the world would be primitive without a thousand (valuable!) scientific discoveries, or drab without fresh ways of saying (and singing) things. No, imagination is a Christian duty for two more fundamental reasons.