I recently watched an interesting show on television entitled, “101 Gadgets that Changed the World.” Included in the list were such essentials as duct tape, hair dryers and cassette tapes. It was so fascinating to see that many of the gadgets that changed the world now are obsolete.

Of course, duct tape does not fall into that category. As long as there are men who break things, there will be duct tape to repair them. But what about the cassette tape? Many of you remember when they replaced the 8-track tape, but when did you last listen to a cassette? How about a CD? I admit that I still have both, but the MP3 has made both of them obsolete to so many.

But I digress. Actually, I was fascinated by the show for the following reason. What is it that caused the inventors of these gadgets and others to pursue their inventions? What made Thomas Edison think that a light bulb would work? What would cause the Wright brothers to think they could fly? How did it ever occur to anyone that we could watch an event in our own living rooms that actually is taking place on the other side of town, much less the globe?

There is within the human mind a marvelous and wonderful thing called the imagination. You can’t take it out and observe it, but it is there. Sometimes, as children, we were rebuked for allowing our imaginations to run free (for me, it always was in science class).
But oh, the power of the human imagination! Because of this power, I am typing this article. I will save it to my computer and email it as an attachment to the editor of the paper. It will be printed and delivered to your mailbox. Finally, you will read it.

How does email work? Don’t ask me. I have no idea why my car cranks when I turn a key. But I am sure of this: We have and utilize our imaginations because God made us to do so. The fact is that science and the Christian faith do not contradict each other. Scientists believe that the world is orderly and predictable. Christians believe that God created an orderly world with laws, such as gravity, that are observable and unchangeable. Thus, science works. We can study and observe the world at work because of how it is fashioned. Could that have happened by accident? Not a chance.

God created this world and all that is in it, and he did so with purpose. You exist for the Lord. He made you for himself. He desires that we acknowledge and love him for who he is and what he has done. I pray that you will do that.

And I also pray that you will know and acknowledge the great mind that is behind the imaginations that have made all of those gadgets that make our lives easier. He really is the God of imagination.