Imagination is one of the greatest tools which the preacher has to employ in winning souls for Christ. In studying the life of Christ, the greatest • preacher the world has ever known, we observe how He appealed to the imagination of every hearer. "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:46), says the Divine Record. Now let us see how He spoke. "Without a parable spake He not unto them." Matt. 53:34. In other words, Christ used many illustrations and stories. In analyzing them, we find that these illustrations always appealed to the imagination of the hearers.
For instance, in studying the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, one quickly recognizes that the sermon was made up largely of parables. Each story appealed to a different group of hearers, and yet His great subject was the kingdom of heaven. He drew from many sources in nature and from the vocations of men to reinforce His theme and make clear the meaning of His message.
Who can listen to the story of the Good Samaritan without feeling the urge to go out and do a kind deed for somebody? That very fact proves the point that Christ employed the imagination of His hearers to stimulate them to greater and better deeds. We have often heard that the story is the window of the sermon, letting in the light. Christ knew how to open the windows. "Never man spake" as He spake. Few have ever employed the use of the story to better advantage and with, greater results. Christ's stories are still rich with meaning and still provide a mighty motivating force in the lives of men.
As ministers let us learn this divine method, and by appealing to the imagination of our hearers improve the effectiveness and increase the fruitfulness of our ministerial endeavors.
IMAGINATION
Imagination is a mystic link
In great constructive preaching; The mind of man is led to think
By its creative teaching. For by it fancy takes its flight
In music, worship, art, or verse,
And seeks to solve, by day and night,
The mysteries of the universe.
—A. A. E.
