The great theologian A.W. Tozer once famously said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us”. It’s a big statement. We normally assume that the most important thing about us may be our achievements or our resume, our material status or reputation, our family or relationships. After all, these are the things that we work so hard for. But no, Tozer says that what you think about God is the most important thing about you.
If you pause to think about it, Tozer’s statement begins to make sense. If you believe in the God of the Bible, then a series of implications begin to unfold. God is infinite, we are finite. He is eternal, we are mortal. God’s knowledge is unfathomable, ours is limited. God is immeasurably powerful, we are weak. God is everywhere, we are confined in time and space. Therefore, it begins to make sense that what we think about this limitless God is far more important than anything in this limited world. What we think about God affects how we relate to God and how we live in his world.
Think about the implications of your understanding of God for a moment. If you’re overly anxious, overly angry, overly ambitious, overly discouraged, overly proud, it’s probably because you’ve either forgotten about the God of the Bible or you’ve never understood him in the first place. You may be tempted to think that theology (the study of God) is boring, but a deep understanding of God has profound practical applications in every part of your life.
Our knowledge of God informs our love for God
This Sunday, we’re starting a series called, ‘Knowing God. Growing in God’. We’re going to examine who God is as he reveals himself in the Bible. This is a series that could take a year of Sundays, such is the expanse of God’s self-disclosure in the Scriptures, but we will limit ourselves to a more modest exploration. We’ll think about God’s faithfulness, his omnipresence, his love, grace, glory, and comfort. We’ll think about how these aspects of God’s character should shape our own hearts and lives. For those who want to explore further, I can recommend a few excellent books, ‘Knowing God’ by J.I. Packer, ‘The Knowledge of the Holy’ by A.W. Tozer, and ‘Truth on Fire’ by Adam Ramsey.
We spend the vast majority of our lives acquiring knowledge to find success in this world, all the while satisfied with a shallow and impoverished understanding of God. The Apostle Paul said, “Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God” (1 Cor. 8:2-3). Our knowledge of God informs our love for God. As we seek to know God more deeply, we see how profoundly we are known and loved by him. The more we gaze on God, the more our hearts sing.
