Monday, June 21, 2010

A.W. Tozer thoughts

I just don't think I am ever going to get it.  This elusive "abundant" spiritual life.  I just don't get it.  It's not about a spiritual to-do list.  There is no special formula.  Even if I read my bible, pray, & meditate on scripture, I still may not get it.  Maybe I am just too literal or maybe I rely too heavily on tangible goals, but I don't think I will ever have the abundant life that scripture outlines (Power in the Holy Spirit, praying unceasing, counting it all as loss, intimacy with Christ, etc).  Maybe I am just not dedicated enough to the cause if you know what I mean.  Maybe I only say I want this life, but I dont really mean it or I'm not really willing to make the sacrifices in order to get it.

A. W. Tozer.  There is a man who got it.  In talking about the Power of the Holy Spirit, he says that part of the Spirit's work is to "reveal objects already present & hidden from the soul" & when these objects become aware to a person, he goes on to describe what this effect will have (hope that makes sense!).  He writes, "[Christ] is felt to be a real Person & to be intimately, ravishingly near...Prayer loses it's unmeaning quality & becomes a sweet conversation with Someone actually there.  Love for God & for the children of God takes possession of the soul.  We feel ourselves to be near to heaven & it is now the earth & the world that begin to seem unreal...Then the whole life changes to suit the new reality & the change is permanent".  I mean, come on, what child of God wouldn't want that?   But the thing is wanting it & having it are quite different.  I don't have it.  I don't know how to get it.  I don't think I will ever have it if I'm being honest.  

Going back to what I said in the beginning of this post, the reason I don't know how to get it is because there is nothing tangible I can do to get it.  There is no checklist to ensure my success.  With Christ, everything is about your heart.  So if my heart is defunct, then my life is defunct.  No amount of bible reading will fix my heart, right?  So, is my heart defunct?  I don't understand that because I do know Jesus, His Spirit does reside inside of me so my heart can't be defunct. 

See the circles I run in?  I-yie-yie.  

*Text taken from The Divine Conquest by A.W. Tozer

2 comments:

Karole said...

I totally relate to your thoughts on this. And I don't remember this quote from the day I did the study, but now reading it on your blog, I am thinking what a great quote that is and how did I manage to skip over it! We need to dialogue more about this study....I have done a couple days of week three this week at the beach. I am thinking I don't get it either because I know I am not experiencing it....certainly not like Tozer.

Karole said...
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