What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
So A.W. Tozer begins The Knowlege of the Holy.
This could be my favorite first sentence of any Christian book ever written.
The chapter is titled “Why we must think rightly about God”
Here is how he continues on that first page…
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.
We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church.
So well written.
So true.
So challenging.
Here are two steps to take in response this week.
1) Take some time to question yourself
I want to encourage you to take some time to grapple with the issue: What comes into your mind when you think about God?
Do we understand God as He is or as we would prefer Him to be?
How many of our thoughts about God come from our own minds?
How much of our wisdom about God comes from our own wishes?
How many of our concepts come from our culture and not from Scripture?
What are the ways that we edit God down to the size of our selfish opinions?
Where do we confine Him to boundaries that we are comfortable with?
2) Take some time to listen to Him
Prayerfully meditate on the Word in order to hear from God about Who God is. Let Him frame and form your view of God by His own self-revelation.
In these two passages God tells us what should come to our minds when we think of God.
These passages are uniquely powerful to establish in our souls a proper image of God that will transform us according to His truth.
Exodus 3:7-15
Exodus 33:12 through 34:9