Monday, July 30, 2007
“Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religiouscomplexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In itsstead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activitieswhich occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and theservile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testifythat we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcelyat all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals we must firstdetermine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity. Now as alwaysGod discovers Himself to “babes” and hides Himself in thick darkness from thewise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. Wemust strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). Wemust put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor ofchildhood. If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond. When religionhas said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. Theevil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in fullrevelation. In the “and” lies our great woe. If we omit the “and”, we shall soonfind God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives beensecretly longing.” A W Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 1948
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6 comments:
Theology kills the church. at least in my experience. But my, how it is impressive.
Hmmm. This is an interesting point. I don't think that theology per se kills the church. We need to know what we believe so that we'll be able to follow Christ and not culture. I think what it boils down to for me is that there are absolute truths...just not very many. It's simple and we make it hard because the world is hard and we get confused. But there's a place to admit that we don't have all of the answers while holding ourselves accountable for the answers we DO have.
This is what kills churches in my opinion: when they abandon what they should know for sure and speculate about what we really haven't been told.
But the Church Universal (The Holy Catholic Church if you will) can't ever be killed. I take comfort in that.
Su
Yes. I know that theology doesn't actually kill the church or churches. What does kill churches (in my opinion) is when theology becomes a crutch and loving people is tossed to the wayside. Of course, this is all based on my experience and bitterness due to recent events, so it is a bit swayed.
I love the passage in Mark where Jesus tells his disciples to love God completely and to love other people as we love ourselves. That's kind of what it boils down to.
Sometimes, I think that people just grub for power and control wherever they can get it. And often, that's church.
if i got started, i fear i would go on way too long about theology and love...so i'll just relax for now and say i love you susan.
i will say this: a dear brother delivered The Pursuit of God into my hands in 2004 and it was indeed a joy. one chapter, i remember, Tozer speaks of the coldness a christian often finds in their faith and the veil of self-love that only Christ will raise...that we may rest in his great love and, thus, love others.
blessings,
jd wilson
I love you too, Josh and I always want to hear what you think.
I think I should take Tozer up again in earnest.
Su
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