September 28th, 2022
“What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” -A.W. Tozer
A.W. Tozer was a profound theologian and teacher in the first half of the 20 th century. The above quote is one of his most famous and I was reminded of it this week as I read a very well known story in the Bible. I thought about it in a way I never had before and I’m going to share some thoughts about it with you, now!
In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus told the parable of the talents, which was an allegory for the kingdom of God, right before He went into Jerusalem for the feast and His crucifixion. In the story, a nobleman—the master—had to leave his home for a season to go into a far country. He called 10 servants to him and gave them each 1 mina (the unit of currency) to “engage in business” while he was gone. When he returned, he called the servants to give an account of what they’d done with what he’d given them. The first servant made 10 more minas and was rewarded. The second servant made 5 minas more and was also rewarded. The third servant then came and said to the master,
‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ (Matt. 25:24-25)
Understandably the master was angry and replied,
“Take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matt. 25:28-30)
This parable was a picture for the disciples of what was about to happen, however it wasn’t just for them. When we get to heaven or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first, each and every one of us will have to give an account to God of what we’ve done with what He’s given us (Rom. 14:12). I’ve read that parable many times, but what I realized this week was that the unfruitful servant—the one who wasted what the master had given him—did so because he had a wrong view of his character. Look again at his excuse! He calls the master a hard and severe man and says that he was afraid. What’s important to understand here is that his perception of his master was not true. The master came back to reap where he had sown. The other servants were fruitful with what the master had given them and received a reward. However, the wicked servant failed because he believed a lie about who his master was!
Think again about the A.W. Tozer quote above. He said, “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Now, that may seem to be an oversimplification, but there truly is no more important thing than knowing who God really is. A few years ago, I was in a coffee shop reading the Bible and studying and I wrote into my journal at the top of a page, “What is God like?” My plan was to begin a study on God’s attributes. I was disrupted shortly after and that was all I’d written on the page when I left the coffee shop. Now, I’d never heard of A.W. Tozer before, to be honest, but later that week as I was praying, I felt the Lord say “Knowledge of the Holy” which was a very random phrase to me. After praying for a while and just hearing that phrase only, I had no idea what He was trying to say, so I consulted Google (naturally). I found that there was a book called “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer and when I saw it, I immediately felt to read it. A couple of days later I received the book and began to read. When I was only a few pages in, my jaw dropped when I read,
‘The child, the philosopher, and the religionist have all one question: “What is God like?” This book is an attempt to answer that question.’
I ran to open my journal where on the most recent page was written, with no other words, “What is God like?”
I was blown away! In the book, A.W. Tozer goes through the attributes of God in an attempt to teach the hungry heart about the one they long to know. It’s powerful, but the most powerful truth here is the reality that God longs to be known by us. When we get saved, we don’t suddenly know everything there is to know. Walking with God is a lifelong journey of learning who He is, what He’s like, and becoming more like Him and we do that first and foremost by seeking Him in His Word! We have to realize it is possible to think wrongly of God, like the lazy servant in the parable, and we can see from the master’s response that he was without excuse.
Especially in our culture, many assign attributes to God that are not His. Many say that God does things He doesn’t or doesn’t do things He does. They say He agrees with things He does not or doesn’t agree with things He does. The enemy will do everything he can to cause confusion and deception about who God is and that’s a dangerous thing! The Word of God tells us in Romans 1:18-24,
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
What can be known about God is plain to them because God has revealed Himself! What a powerful scripture. Even those who “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” have been given the opportunity to seek and know God. Over and over again in Scripture, He demonstrates who He is and what He’s like, but it takes a heart intent on finding Him to actually know Him and there is no clearer picture of who He is than in His Son. Jesus said in John 14:6- 11,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him…Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
Jesus is the imprint of the Father’s nature and the greatest demonstration of His love that the world has ever known. When God sent Jesus, it was to tear the veil so that we can know Him, not just in our heads or theoretically, but in Spirit and in Truth. Tozer said the most important thing about us is what comes into our minds when we think about God. I believe this is true because it demonstrates what we know about Him in our heart. The lazy servant failed with what God had given him, not because he lacked the ability or God hadn’t given him what he needed. He failed because he misunderstood who his master was. This week, I want to ask you: do you know who He is? He’s a good Father—just and merciful, pure and holy, righteous and kind. If you don’t know Him, I encourage you to seek Him in His word. He’s bigger than you’ve ever dreamed, better than you’ve ever hoped, and He is waiting to be found by you!
A.W. Tozer was a profound theologian and teacher in the first half of the 20 th century. The above quote is one of his most famous and I was reminded of it this week as I read a very well known story in the Bible. I thought about it in a way I never had before and I’m going to share some thoughts about it with you, now!
In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus told the parable of the talents, which was an allegory for the kingdom of God, right before He went into Jerusalem for the feast and His crucifixion. In the story, a nobleman—the master—had to leave his home for a season to go into a far country. He called 10 servants to him and gave them each 1 mina (the unit of currency) to “engage in business” while he was gone. When he returned, he called the servants to give an account of what they’d done with what he’d given them. The first servant made 10 more minas and was rewarded. The second servant made 5 minas more and was also rewarded. The third servant then came and said to the master,
‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ (Matt. 25:24-25)
Understandably the master was angry and replied,
“Take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matt. 25:28-30)
This parable was a picture for the disciples of what was about to happen, however it wasn’t just for them. When we get to heaven or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first, each and every one of us will have to give an account to God of what we’ve done with what He’s given us (Rom. 14:12). I’ve read that parable many times, but what I realized this week was that the unfruitful servant—the one who wasted what the master had given him—did so because he had a wrong view of his character. Look again at his excuse! He calls the master a hard and severe man and says that he was afraid. What’s important to understand here is that his perception of his master was not true. The master came back to reap where he had sown. The other servants were fruitful with what the master had given them and received a reward. However, the wicked servant failed because he believed a lie about who his master was!
Think again about the A.W. Tozer quote above. He said, “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Now, that may seem to be an oversimplification, but there truly is no more important thing than knowing who God really is. A few years ago, I was in a coffee shop reading the Bible and studying and I wrote into my journal at the top of a page, “What is God like?” My plan was to begin a study on God’s attributes. I was disrupted shortly after and that was all I’d written on the page when I left the coffee shop. Now, I’d never heard of A.W. Tozer before, to be honest, but later that week as I was praying, I felt the Lord say “Knowledge of the Holy” which was a very random phrase to me. After praying for a while and just hearing that phrase only, I had no idea what He was trying to say, so I consulted Google (naturally). I found that there was a book called “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer and when I saw it, I immediately felt to read it. A couple of days later I received the book and began to read. When I was only a few pages in, my jaw dropped when I read,
‘The child, the philosopher, and the religionist have all one question: “What is God like?” This book is an attempt to answer that question.’
I ran to open my journal where on the most recent page was written, with no other words, “What is God like?”
I was blown away! In the book, A.W. Tozer goes through the attributes of God in an attempt to teach the hungry heart about the one they long to know. It’s powerful, but the most powerful truth here is the reality that God longs to be known by us. When we get saved, we don’t suddenly know everything there is to know. Walking with God is a lifelong journey of learning who He is, what He’s like, and becoming more like Him and we do that first and foremost by seeking Him in His Word! We have to realize it is possible to think wrongly of God, like the lazy servant in the parable, and we can see from the master’s response that he was without excuse.
Especially in our culture, many assign attributes to God that are not His. Many say that God does things He doesn’t or doesn’t do things He does. They say He agrees with things He does not or doesn’t agree with things He does. The enemy will do everything he can to cause confusion and deception about who God is and that’s a dangerous thing! The Word of God tells us in Romans 1:18-24,
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
What can be known about God is plain to them because God has revealed Himself! What a powerful scripture. Even those who “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” have been given the opportunity to seek and know God. Over and over again in Scripture, He demonstrates who He is and what He’s like, but it takes a heart intent on finding Him to actually know Him and there is no clearer picture of who He is than in His Son. Jesus said in John 14:6- 11,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him…Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
Jesus is the imprint of the Father’s nature and the greatest demonstration of His love that the world has ever known. When God sent Jesus, it was to tear the veil so that we can know Him, not just in our heads or theoretically, but in Spirit and in Truth. Tozer said the most important thing about us is what comes into our minds when we think about God. I believe this is true because it demonstrates what we know about Him in our heart. The lazy servant failed with what God had given him, not because he lacked the ability or God hadn’t given him what he needed. He failed because he misunderstood who his master was. This week, I want to ask you: do you know who He is? He’s a good Father—just and merciful, pure and holy, righteous and kind. If you don’t know Him, I encourage you to seek Him in His word. He’s bigger than you’ve ever dreamed, better than you’ve ever hoped, and He is waiting to be found by you!
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