“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” (The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer). What a beautiful quote that immediately leads us to ponder this exceptional truth. It begs the question, “What is the first thought we have when we think about God or pray to Him?” Whatever that thought is, it will be the foundation we build our lives on. A challenge here is to slow down enough to give an honest answer. Only then will we know what our first and most important thought is about God. Will you take a few moments right now to slow your mind down enough to discover what your first thought is about God?
One of the most influential theologians of the 20th century was Karl Barth. What I am about to share with you may blow your mind. He wrote one book that had over six million words on 9000 pages! Towards the end of his life, he was asked to summarize the millions of words he had written. He replied, “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” You might say that this was Karl Barth’s first thought about God, as well as his last. Like most of us, he didn’t start there but grew in his knowledge of God as time went on.
The Apostle Paul, the greatest human theologian ever, wrote over one-fourth of the New Testament. His explanation of who God is and the Gospel of grace was his letter to the Romans, which is 7114 words long. The average letter in his time was 200 words long which would fit on one side of an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of today’s copy paper. The first eight chapters of Romans are considered by many the heart of the Gospel of grace. Like Barth, Paul was compelled to summarize it all in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who is against us?”
What if this was always our first thought about God? No matter what life throws at us or what we do or how crazy the world seems to be, God is ALWAYS for us. He is never against us. He is never punishing us. He is never angry with us. On the contrary, God is ALWAYS for us, so much so that He sent the most valuable gift He had to rescue us, His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to explain how God is for us in verses 32-37. He concludes by writing that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. Why? Because He is ALWAYS for us!
Would you join me this week in praying often, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” I’m challenging myself as much as I am you.
“Father, please remind us that no matter what happens this week, whether enjoyable things or unenviable things, You are ALWAYS for us! Amen”
