Here is a comment from A.W. Tozer that is now 60 years old… but which could have seemingly been written last week:
"In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: 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 eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will they be content with correct ‘interpretations’ of truth. They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied until they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water…
"There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They ministry constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy…
"Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts."
– Written in June, 1948 by A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p.7 (Christian Publications, New York: 1968).
Andrew- you gotta read this book… as Steve says too. I’ve just offered a review on my READINGS page. The Pursuit of God just seems to get better every time I read it… something which can’t be said for most books. It’s definitely in my top 10.
It’s cutting edge still today… and yet remarkably unwavering in theology. Most books today seem to be either cutting edge or unwavering… but few are both. If our traditional and emerging churches could follow Tozer’s words as his words pursue God, we’d be okay.
Pursuit of God…best book I ever read. Try to read it at least once a year
I can’t believe that was written in 1948. I just read a book, Simply Christian, which had an entire section devoted to pointing out how the spiritual suppression of the Western world is busting open and people are beginning to experiment with spiritual forces for both good and bad. This sounds almost exacly like what I was reading by N.T. Wright. I can’t say that I have honestly noticed much of it myself, but I have experienced it. Maybe that is the sign itself. What doses it look like?