“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. . . . We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.”- A. W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy
“If any of you has a sheep, and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”- Matthew 12:11-12
Brian Jones concludes Chapter 5 of Finding Favor as he discusses a strategy for proving points about God. Employed by the influential rabbi Hillel (110 BC to AD 10), the strategy is called Qal Wahoner, meaning “light to heavy.” Thus, a light to heavy argument begins with something small that everybody can agree on. Next, the argument proves that if something applies to a smaller situation, then it certainly applies to God. And these three words indicate a light-to-heavy argument – “how much more.”
Therefore, Pastor Jones stresses, Jesus makes the point in Matthew 7:7-11 that God wants to intervene in our everyday lives in the same powerful way He did in the Bible. In other words, God hasn’t changed in the least. However, Brian posits, we’ve changed our understanding of how God goes about doing it.
In conclusion, Brian explains:
“Many Christians take what they know to be true about the way their life works and try to make God fit into that first. Jesus teaches us to do the exact opposite. We’re to get absolute clarity on who God is and what He wants to do in our lives first, then we’re to make our experience fit into God’s reality.”
Today’s question: What determines your mental image of God? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Your core truth – how the world works”
