jordanabina
This was my first attempt at reading anything by A.W. Tozer outside of hearing people use random quotes from him. But after reading this book I understand why people quote him so often, as he is very quotable. Tozer has a way of shooting straight to the point of whatever issue he is talking about, because it seems like all these issues are on the tip of his tongue, or better said on the very surface of his heart. I felt like he wanted to print these chapter in 25 pt font and post them up on church doors and make it required reading for church members. I am fan of that.
In The Pursuit of GodTozer is able to bring out the real issues, especially the important realities of God that may be overlooked. Above all else Tozer begins the book with a reminder that all of us should be following hard after God, and unpacking what that looks like and doesn’t look like. You can sense a genuine uneasiness with the local church in Tozer’s assessment of the evidence of salvation amongst believers.
“It (salvation) is, however not an end but an inception, nor now begins the glorious pursuit, the hearts happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead.”
How true this is. Even in my own life, I’ve stopped preaching the gospel to myself every day. The gospel isn’t something we experience and move past, instead it’s something we experience daily and allow the work of the spirit to change our lives every day. That is a different way to follow Jesus, actually following him somewhere every day. Tozer brilliantly unpacks the Abraham and Isaac story of sacrifice as a way of understanding that the most important thing in life must be Jesus, no one else can be on the throne of our hearts, not even things God has blessed us with.
Tozer takes a good three chapters to unpack what God’s presence is and how important he is in our lives. If you have wondered how we can worship a God who is everywhere all the time, chapter 3 and 4 are a beautiful display of both Tozer’s understanding of New Testament theology and his experience in the presence of God.
“We need prophets. Scribes tell us what he has read, and the prophet tells us what he has seen.”
The book is so short that it is worth a back-to-back reading as it is the size of a grain of sand but weighs as much as a mountain. How this could have come out of man is a testimony to God’s anointing on Tozer and speaks to the influence he has had on generations of theologians. Tozer unpacks the voice of God and how God has neverstopped speaking since Genesis 1. Tozer is not a man of compartmentalization, he is solely and wholly fixed upon the person of Jesus Christ and challenging the church and it’s followers to not grow tired of seeking him but to chase after his manifest presence.
“it is a solemn think, and no small scandal in the kingdom, to see God’s children starving while actually seated at the Father’s table.”
Let it never be said of my family or my church that when people gathered in Jesus’ name that they never actually heard about him, experienced him, or made him Lord of their life. Tozer demands a response of action when it comes to our churches: are we pursuing God or are we pursuing the idea of God?Such a great question to wrestle with and such a great question to write down and return to.
I love The Pursuit of Godby A.W. Tozer and recommend it to anyone seeking God for the first time or wanting to ignite your faith. This short but dense book is a great reminder of what’s important and how to keep that at the forefront of our lives. God is alive, God is active and God is speaking to you.
Go get this book.
Right now.
