A. W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
I remember as a teenager that I had a dreadful fear of God. However, that fear kept me from a lot of sin that I was tempted to do.
I had attended a parochial school from first grade throught eighth grade, so I knew all about God; His wrath against sin, His knowing everything about us, His punishmnet if we did anything wrong. If at that time I was asked, “What do you think about God?” my answer would have been, “I always thought He was going to squash me under His thumb, so I lived in constant fear of Him.”
I lived in fear until age 30. That’s when a friend of mine told me about her personal relationhip with Jesus and the joy she felt.
Joy? I thought. “Are we talking about the same God?” I asked my friend. Then I explained my fearful thoughts I had about God and about dying. Pastor Jared Carlson said in his sermon, “When life is lived apart from the Author of Life, death is all that remains.” That is were I had been living. My friend expained how she, too, had a fear of God until she learned about His unconditional love and His abundant grace. She told me how God would forgive us for all our sins, and how through faith in Jesus, we can be reconciled to the heavenly Father.
I remember thinking, after all these years of fearing God and not wanting to even think about Him that I could actually have a loving relationship with Him and call him my heaenly Father? And have peace and joy? I leaned into all my friend had to say.
I wanted to know Jesus – not just to know about Him. But to know Him after thirty years of shunning Him? It seemed an impossible thing. But I prayed anyway – confessing my sins and by faith, receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord of my life.
Then, if anyone would have asked me, “What comes to mind when you think of God?” I would have said, “Well, let me tell you…”
I know it would have been difficult to contain the joy that filled my heart and erased the years of fearful dread of my heavenly Father. In my years of fearig Him, I saw only His righteousness, His wrath againt sin, and His justice without seeing His love, His grace, and His forgiveness. So, who is God? He is my heavenly Father; my Savior, my Lord, my King, my High Priest; and who leads me in all truth. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Side Note: I have added another page to my website called The Gospel. It is a walk-through of the Gospel in order to share it with someone you may have been praying for. Walk them through and let that person discover who God is and the joy of being a believer.
Here’s the link, and may you be blessed as you share the Gospel. https://awalktothewell.com/the-gospel/