Thinking on God
The God Who Serves Those Who Serve Him
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John Wesley declared, “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the triune God!” If we brought all the worms of the Earth together, could they collectively comprehend a man? No, likewise, neither can a man or all men combined comprehend God completely.
How do you answer the questions young children ask? Why is the sky blue? Why do dogs chase cats? Why do you keep driving past the, “Do Not Pass,” sign? Who is God?
How do you answer that last question? “The only God worth talking about is a God that cannot be talked about” (Walter Kaufmann). He is so high that talking about Him lifts the soul as nothing else can. He is so high that anything we say falls short. Yet, He who know us wants us to know Him, for that summarizes the message of the Bible, and it summarizes the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth (John 14.7–9).
Therefore, we can answer the child’s and philosopher’s question of who is God by pointing to the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
When we see Jesus in the Scriptures, we see deity in the flesh (Col 2.9–10). The totality of the Godhead dwelt in the body of Jesus. He did not lack one divine attribute. Since Jesus had the fullness of deity in the flesh, we can find our completeness in Him. What then I think on God, especially what I think on Jesus, has a massive impact on my life. That would also mean that failure to think on God and failure to think on Jesus will have a massive negative influence on my life. If the unbeliever does not feel that void, he will feel it when he comes to the end of life’s journey. Then again, many die with peace of mind without ever having thought on God. However, something different will happen once they enter the afterlife. They will experience separation from God.
Let us, therefore, not go through one day without thinking on God.
We cannot rise above what we think of God, for our thoughts on God affect every part of our lives; even if we do not think on Him, it shows in all that we do. Therefore, we cannot think on anything higher.
Our understanding of Him either lowers us or raises us.
To those who know that something greater than the creation exists, to those who long for their Creator, to those desperate to know God, thinking on God provides the most fulfilling experience.
Once we discover who God is and what we think of Him, we can set a course for our lives. We can see where we have been, why we have our present status in life, and where we shall go in life.
If there is a God, what you think of Him, whether good thoughts or bad, whether you think of Him at all, echoes in your life on the Earth.
What shall you do with those thoughts?
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About the Book
Who is God? How do we even begin to answer the question? Is he so infinitely great that our words cannot possibly capture his essence? Or is God so intimately personal to our hearts and souls that it is impossible to articulate his character and nature? Yet whether God is infinitely high or intimately personal, we have one way to know God in a way we can collectively fathom—through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Thinking on God is an earnest and thoughtful collection of biblical and religious arguments for the proof of God’s existence, and author Don Ruhl dwells on the character of both God and humanity while helping fellow believers see how reflecting on God’s majesty and awesome power can bring us closer to him and his creation. The life and ministry of Jesus Christ play a central role in our getting to know God, and it is through Christ that we see God’s essence—his power, glory, grace, patience, mercy, holiness, and goodness. And yet in the end, it may surprise us that the King of kings will ultimately serve us, his loyal servants, in humility.
We see God in his creation, and we know God through Christ. When we seek God and come to know him in all his majesty, power, and grace, we will discover who God is and be able to set a course for our lives. Let us therefore not go through a single day without thinking on God.
About the Author
Don Ruhl began preaching in Long Beach, California, with the North Long Beach Church of Christ in 1980; he later moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1983 and worked with the Nile Street Church of Christ, and since 2002 he now preaches in Grants Pass, Oregon, with the Savage Street Church of Christ. Don manages the website for GrantsPassChurchOfChrist.com, as well as EmailDevotionals.com and TheBibleMeditator.com.