thoughts about God.

"That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God. A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignorable thoughts about God."

--a.w. tozer, cited in renovation of the heart, by dallas willard

i'm pretty sure that my idea of God is way off sometimes. i mean, if i'm really honest with myself, my actual thoughts about God are probably not even close to being in line with His actual character. and without a doubt, the way i live is in direct relation to my concept of who God is. 

for example, in chapel this week, the speaker asked: do you really know that God loves you? what if you lived like you really believed that?

i've been thinking about those questions all week. i want to know the truth about God. i want to know Him.