It never ceases to amaze me (and honestly make me a tad bit jealous) when I read or hear Christian folk who, by what I am reading or hearing, are or were at such a deeper level with God than I am. So much so that it makes my heart and brain hurt at the same time. Talk about a paradox. It begs comparison of my life to theirs almost without thinking about it.
To many, A.W. Tozer would fall into this category of foregone folks. Although Tozer's last words were spoken in 1963, his words live on and speak almost prophetically to the American church in 2008. I will give one such of his quotes from the "preface" of his "The Pursuit of God", originally "The Divine Conquest"...Again this is from the "preface"...
"Within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself...They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep from the Fountain of Living Water..."
When I read this recently, it knocked me back like a high-n-tight fastball...It spoke deeply to my heart. Why? Because there are many days that go by that I feel a little lonely in this pursuit. Not so much lonely in my relationship with the Lord, but lonely in relation to my fellowships and shared experiences with the brethern. It is hard to find someone who have even heard of guys Tozer, much less talk about what Tozer commented on 60 years ago...Kind of like a lone ranger or Elijah...But Tozer went further.
"...this hunger must be recognized by our religious leaders. Current evangelicalism has laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seems satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty Mount Carmel...But God be thanked there are a few who care...They are those who, while they love the altar and sacrifice, are yet unable to reconcile themselves to the continues absence of fire. They desire God above all..."
Wow!!! How much time do I spend worried about the forms and external pressures that drive my worship and our worship as a people? Do I notice that there is a lack of fire coming from our sacrifice of praise? Do our "religious leaders" give a rip about feeding this hunger and fanning the flame or are they more worried about numbers and offerings?? I like to think that I desire God above all things. But to desire God above all things means that I have to be concerned about and look for fire in my worship. May we seek the "fire" and may we kick anything that does not help stoke the fire to the curb! SDG. JW
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This is why I love Tozer. It's his talk of longing. Thanks for highlighting what he said in the preface about the role of church leaders. It's an all-important reminder of my calling to feed the hungry with the only food that satisfies!
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