TO THE WORLD, Christians are not typically thought of as particularly creative or imaginative. The caricature is a middle-aged man with a shirt buttoned too high (without a tie), with pants pulled up to the armpits, and donning a threatening, oversized Bible (to hit unsuspecting victims on the head). The passionate artist, mystery novelist, and jazz musician, for some reason, do not come readily to mind. That is a shame.

The reality, however, is that God is tremendously creative. A brief tour of a zoo will confirm the fact. And there are even magnificent aspects of the Christian faith which display God’s creativity and glory, but are often dismissed or misunderstood. Take angels for instance. For some people, believing in angels is akin to believing in UFOs or Sasquatch. These things seem more like figments of someone’s overly-stimulated imagination. And, surprisingly to those who know me, I would wholeheartedly agree with that assessment—angels are figments of someone’s imagination. But the crucial question is this: whose imagination? If they are figments of my imagination, then their reality is no more likely than bent spoons, palm reading, and astrology. However, if angels are a product of God’s imagination, then that is very significant indeed! Since it was simply God’s imagination that made the rings of Saturn, sticky honeycombs, mighty waterfalls, mossy nooks, and slimy eels, amazing heavenly creatures such as angels most definitely can, and do, exist!

A famous preacher once commented that he had no problem believing that “a whale swallowed Jonah.” In fact, he would have no problem believing that “Jonah swallowed a whale” as long as the Bible began with these words: “In the beginning, God…”

For the omnipotent Creator of the Universe, His divine imagination is more real than our perceived reality. The colorful movements of His thoughts are more concrete than the felt hammer that smashes our thumbs. He is no more constrained by the rules of natural law than an eagle is limited by a flat, two-dimensional Earth. In God’s eyes, the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology are really not “laws” at all—they are His toys to bend and mold as He pleases. God does not bow to physics. Physics bows to God. And although our limited minds cannot comprehend the practicalities of how “a whale swallowed Jonah,” God is not bound by our past experience of what has or has not happened in this world. And the belief that some people have that God cannot or must not operate in this manner or that because it violates their personal convictions of how this world should work, only makes God laugh!

God likes angels. They display a minuscule inkling of His unquenchable glory! So He imagined them, and then they were. And quite frankly, we should be extremely grateful for angels. Without them as some sort of “messenger” from God, a sinful humanity would be faced with the terrifying prospect of meeting a holy God—angels are scary enough.

Shepherds, Why This Jubilee?

On that first Christmas night, angels filled the heavens with singing and jubilation. And they announced to the shepherds in the fields that the Messiah had arrived. The poor shepherds, whose entire life experience consisted of grazing and grooming dim-witted sheep, were stricken with fear as they beheld the skies filled with sensational luminous creatures. In a moment, the fog caused by the daily grind of human survival and the mundane repetitions of daily chores was lifted like a bride’s veil. For the first time, these simple shepherd tasted the vast creativity of an infinite God. And the boundaries of their small world was instantly enlarged. Their sheep were no longer simply dull and dumb animals, they were now the creative expression of a glorious God (with a sense of humor). The green pastures were no longer simply fields. They were lush, emerald blankets that God crocheted for the naked grounds.

Some people criticize Christians because our message is too “narrow.” We believe Jesus Christ when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me.” Other people criticize Christians because our vision is too “wide.” We believe in Moses parting the Red Sea, Noah’s ark, Christ’s virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus, his resurrection from the dead, Heaven, and even angels. In the end, we are hated and mocked because our message is too narrow and our vision is too wide. And yet, we are reminded that it was the Lord Jesus who said, “narrow are the gates to heaven.” In other words, the exclusive nature of Christianity leads to an incomprehensibly vast hope!

When Christmas day arrived, the “vision” and future hope of these simple shepherds were dramatically widened. Although others may have laughed in disbelief as they retold their story to family and friends, the truth of angels (and, therefore, of Heaven and God) was forever engraved into their hearts. And when they temporarily walked away from their sheep and fields (and livelihood) to find the prophesied Messiah, they were filled again with wonder and awe. This time, their amazement was from the sight of an infinite and mighty God indwelling a tender child. God had shattered all their expectations of how life worked—their humble existence was infused with the glory of angels, and then in a sublime plot twist that only God could create, the glory of God came down into the form of a tiny baby. Wonder of wonders!