The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

If you have tasted God's holy, immediate presence,

you will not have much use for life without that intimacy.

- Dr. Dennis Kinlaw -

What a delight to revisit Tozer's classic, The Pursuit of God, after many, many years. As Tozer so aptly puts it, Our pursuit of God is successful only because He is forever seeking to manifest Himself to us. We find Him only because He is eager to be found. (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

Many Christians believe in God, but don't live in intimate fellowship with Him. Their ideas are brain-deep, not life-deep. What makes some people so much more sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings and correction? What makes some people so willing to give up all this world's "toys" to serve selflessly and wholeheartedly? Tozer proposes that those who actively pursue Him, put into place certain attitudes and actions that help them to cultivate their life in Christ. Their receptivity may be increased by practice or destroyed by neglect.

One hindrance to communion with Christ is what Tozer calls "hyphenated sins." They are not something we do; they are something we are, and therein lies both their subtlety and power. The self-sins are these: self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love, and a host of others like them. These hidden sins must be rooted out if we are to live in glad obedience to our loving heavenly Father.

Another hindrance is lack of faith. Why do we know so little of that habitual conscious communion with God which the scriptures seem to offer? The answer is our chronic unbelief. Faith enables our spiritual sense to function.

This devotional classic is chock full of admonitions and insights such as, Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity, and bluster make a man dear to God. If you want to go deeper in your relationship to Christ, Tozer will point you in the right direction. But be warned, if you are used to fluffy Christianity that requires little or no effort on your part, you may be offended by what Tozer has to say. I'll close with one of the prayers in the book:

Blessings,