Mackenzie often approaches me with questions that appear to have come out of the air, but she has actually been thinking on them for some time. Last week was no exception.
Mom, what is the most important thing we should know about God?”
Wow. That’s a brain twister. There are lots of important things about God that I want her to know, but what is the number one most important thing? My brain buzzed with all the answers I could give her. I could tell her that God loves her and that is most important, but is that the notion I want her walking away with? It sounded a bit self important to me. Back to square one.
What is the most important thing we should know about God?
Wait a minute. Sometimes she asks me these questions and she is being more rhetorical than actually seeking my thoughts. Maybe she has an answer in mind and I can get a pass.
“Mackenzie, what do you think is the most important thing we should know about God?”
“I don’t know, Mom. That’s why I asked you.”
Hello again, square one.
In my head, I am having a conversation with God that is racing at lightening speeds. I love having chats with my kids about God, but I am always concerned that I will paint the wrong picture and leave them with a distorted image of who God is. I want her to know that God loves her, but I don’t want her to think that God is a big mushy Santa-type character who just winks at sin and gives her a lollipop. Conversely, I don’t want her to lay awake nights on end, waiting for God to squish her with His thumb because she is a wicked, evil sinner.
And so, I finally get the one word that I think encompasses the number one, most important thing there is to remember about God.
“Mackenzie, God is sovereign.”
“Huh? What does that word mean?”
Great. Sovereign means sovereign. That’s what it means. How do I tell her what it mea…
And then it came to me.
“It means that God knows what He’s doing and He’s always right.”
Mackenzie has turned that conversation into her mantra. Just this morning, she made me repeat back to her what sovereign means and then she happily skipped away chanting, “God knows what He’s doing and He’s always right.” I think I could use that as my own mantra.
That is a great mantra. I’ll have to remember that for my conversations with Emlyn.
Sounds like a great definition to me.
Kind of like Beth Moore’s five things to remember. 1.God is who He says He is 2. God can do what He says He can do 3. I am who God says I am 4. I can do all things through Christ 5. God’s word is alive and active in me. 
Five fingers, five things to remember. 
Beautiful.
I like that, Briana.
It is a good mantra.
wow, that is the best one word descriptor I think I’ve ever heard about God. I need to remind myself of that ’cause it about covers everything – the details are all written down and I can refer to them when I want to know more about what ‘sovreign’ means.
- Cat