Reimagining Our Faith: Moving Beyond “Does It Have to Be This Way?”
When life feels unfair or limited, there’s a sacred question we can ask: “Does it have to be this way?” This question opens the door to reimagining—not wishful thinking, but a core practice of faith that runs throughout Scripture.
What Does It Mean to Reimagine in Faith?
Reimagining is at the heart of biblical faith. It’s what the prophets did, what Jesus practiced, and what the Spirit continues to do—working newness into old places until hope is born. This isn’t about denying reality; it’s about seeing beyond current circumstances to God’s greater possibilities.
The Widow’s Offering: A Story of Systemic Critique
Looking Beyond the Surface
In Mark 12, Jesus watches people give at the temple treasury. The wealthy drop in large, impressive sums while a poor widow places two small coins in the offering. But Jesus sees more than amounts—he sees the story behind each gift.
Understanding the Context
What we often miss is what comes right before this story. Jesus warns about leaders who “devour widows’ houses.” He’s not romanticizing the widow’s desperation or spiritualizing her poverty. Instead, he’s critiquing a broken system that left her with only two coins to begin with.
This scene calls for imagination—Jesus is saying we need to look hard at this reality and recognize it’s not how God intended the world to work. We need to reimagine a different story.
God’s Vision: The Jubilee Economy
What Was Jubilee?
Before temples, taxation, and modern economic systems, God commanded Israel to observe Jubilee every 50 years. This meant:
* Releasing debts
* Freeing captives
* Returning land
* Rebalancing inequality
* Allowing the soil to rest
The Message Behind Jubilee
Jubilee was God’s way of saying: “You will not recreate Pharaoh’s economy. You will not build a world where the vulnerable are forgotten. You will build a world of enough for everyone.”
Leaving Margins: The Edges of Our Fields
In Leviticus, God instructed farmers to leave the edges of their fields for the poor and immigrants—gleanings deliberately left behind so others could harvest with dignity. This wasn’t charity; it was system-level reimagination of human equity.
The metaphorical edges of our life fields shouldn’t be accidental either. We should intentionally create margins in our lives for those in need—spaces of compassion and shared dignity.
Rewriting Our Money Stories
What Stories Have We Inherited?
Every person inherits a money story. Some inherit:
* Scarcity mindset
* Shame around finances
* Anxiety about provision
* The belief that worth equals wealth
Finding Freedom Through Reimagining
Here’s where freedom lies: stories can be rewritten. Reimagining asks:
* What if God’s dream for me is bigger than the story I’ve carried?
* What if my money isn’t just about survival, but about connection, compassion, and justice?
* What if the Spirit is inviting me to participate in Jubilee, even in small ways?
Small Acts, Kingdom Impact
When a church community was given $10 bills to use imaginatively, the results demonstrated kingdom principles in action:
* Someone bought poinsettias for the church
* Another took a friend to lunch for spiritual conversation
* One person supported youth fundraising efforts
* Someone helped a teacher buy turkey for students learning about Thanksgiving
* Others tipped service workers generously or helped with book club expenses
These weren’t grand gestures—they were small, deliberate acts of kingdom imagination. They show how manna becomes seed, how small gifts plant Jubilee in the making.
Three Ways to Practice Reimagining
1. Reimagine What “Enough” Means
Think of “enough” not as a quantity, but as a level of trust in God and in the community of believers around you. In Scripture, enough is always tied to God, not to accumulation.
2. Reimagine the Edges of Your Field
Where can you create margin in your life? Where can you intentionally leave space for another person’s flourishing? This applies both literally and figuratively to how we structure our resources and time.
3. Reimagine Community
What would your faith community look like if Jubilee wasn’t just a metaphor, but a lived reality? What if no one had to suffer alone? What if we truly believed God’s abundance can flow in unexpected ways?
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to practice reimagining in one specific area of your life. Look at your resources—time, money, skills, or relationships—and ask: “Where can I create margins for others to flourish?”
Consider these questions:
* What money story have I inherited, and how might God want to rewrite it?
* Where in my life am I asking “Does it have to be this way?” and how might I begin to reimagine possibilities?
* How can I participate in creating “Jubilee moments” for others in my community?
* What would change if I truly believed that God’s abundance can work through small, faithful acts?
Remember, reimagining isn’t naive—it’s resurrection faith. It’s what disciples do when they believe God is still working in our story, transforming scarcity into abundance and despair into hope.
