"Think on these things"
"...let your mind dwell on these things."
Among my favorite required textbooks in seminary was Fisher Humphreys' Thinking About God. It is a basic treatment of Christian theology. Humphreys wrote the book with the novice or uneducated Bible student in mind. It is a simple read but does a great job of laying a foundation to build upon in one's theological quest.
The title, Thinking About God, grabbed my attention. That's what "theology" is ... thinking about God. Theology is simply the study of God. So, seminary students enter theology classes in order to study, learn about, and THINK about God. Who He is. His nature. His attributes. His heart. His plan for mankind. And so on.
In Philippians 4:8 Paul penned the following:
You may consider a lot of "things" that fall into the camps of truth, honesty, purity, and so on. Paul wrote these words just after he explained that the bickering in the Philippian church was doing damage to the work of the gospel. So, he told them, "Hey, don't think about the things that cause you to argue. Think on the things that unite you as a church and bless you as an individual." It was part of Paul's formula for overcoming bickering and getting the church re-focused on the ministry.
But I have always taken the verse and it's implication one step further. I have to credit Fisher Humphreys' book title for leading me to do so. Thinking About God. Really, what is the source of true, honesty, justice, etc? The better question is: WHO is the source?
When considering the verse I believe we should ask:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there by any praise, think on these things.When you consider the verse you simply must ask:
What is true?
What is honest?
What is just?
What is pure?
What is lovely?
What is of a good report (reputation)?
What has virtue and is worthy of praise?
You may consider a lot of "things" that fall into the camps of truth, honesty, purity, and so on. Paul wrote these words just after he explained that the bickering in the Philippian church was doing damage to the work of the gospel. So, he told them, "Hey, don't think about the things that cause you to argue. Think on the things that unite you as a church and bless you as an individual." It was part of Paul's formula for overcoming bickering and getting the church re-focused on the ministry.
But I have always taken the verse and it's implication one step further. I have to credit Fisher Humphreys' book title for leading me to do so. Thinking About God. Really, what is the source of true, honesty, justice, etc? The better question is: WHO is the source?
When considering the verse I believe we should ask:
WHO is true?
WHO is honest?
WHO is just?
WHOis pure?
WHO is lovely?
WHO is of a good report (reputation)?
WHO has virtue and is worthy of praise?
God. Only God. The God of the Bible. The God of the Christian church. So, when you "think on these things" shouldn't you think about God? Shouldn't we think about our God of truth? Our God of honesty? Our lovely, loving God? Shouldn't we consider the implications of these wonderful attributes?
I often wonder if our lives, circumstances, and daily affairs would be easier to face and handle if we thought on the things that define our Heavenly Father.
Food for thought?
I trust this has been a blessing to you.
Tony Guthrie
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