FIRST THINGS FIRST

FIRST THINGS FIRST

READ:
1 Chronicles 28:5-10

Know the God of your father,
and serve Him with a loyal
heart and with a willing mind.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9

When our granddaughter Sarah was very young, she told us she wanted to be a basketball coach like her daddy when she grew up.  But she couldn't be one yet, she said, because first she had to be a player, and a player has to be able to tie her shoelaces, and she couldn't tie hers yet!

First things first, we say.  And the first thing in all of life is to know God and enjoy Him.

Acknowledging and knowing God helps us to become what we were meant to be.  Here is King David's counsel to his son Solomon:  "Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind" (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Remember, God can be known.  He is a Person, not a logical or theological concept.  He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, and desires as any person does.  A.W. Tozer writes, "He is a person and can be known in increasing degrees of intimacy as we prepare our hearts for the wonder of it."  Ah, there's the rub:  We must "prepare our hearts."

The Lord is not playing hard to know; those who want to know Him can.  He will not foist His love on us, but He does wait patiently, for He wants to be known by you.  Knowing Him is the first thing in life. -David Roper

He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joys we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known. - Miles
*********************************
The thought of God staggers the mind
but to know Him satisfies the heart.

INSIGHT
In this reading, King David has called the leaders of Israel to acknowledge his son Solomon as the future ruler and temple builder.  The priests and Levites had already been informed of their proper temple service.  This passage marks Solomon's public commitment to the costly and time-consuming building of God's sanctuary on earth.  The earthly temple prefigures the heavenly temple of God (Hebrews 9-10).

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace