Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled ~ Matthew 5:6
My soul followeth hard after thee:
Thy right hand upholdeth me. ~ Psalm 63:8
I was reminded today of this quote from A.W Tozer, "I want to want thee; I long to be be filled with longing; I thirst to be thirsty still." A number of years ago I had read this book called The Pursuit of God written by A.W Tozer. The book itself became one of my favorite writings and the author quickly became one of my favorite authors. It is this very book I read that allowed for a deep stirring from within to surface which lead to the journey I am currently on. There is another such book that is said to be a more contemporary and newer writing of the same thought which is called, The God Chasers written by Tommy Tenny. I had the book in hand and began to read the book but the book itself didn't capture my heart and attention in the same way A.W Tozer had.
Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man. Before a sinful man can think a right thought of God, there must have been a work of enlightenment done within him; imperfect it may be, but a true work nonetheless, and the secret cause of all desiring and seeking and praying which may follow. We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. "No man can come to me," said the Lord, "except the Father which hath sent me draw him," And it is by this very prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming. The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand. "Thy right hand upholdeth me," In this divine "upholding" and human "following" there is no contradiction. All is of God, for as Von Hugel teaches, God is always previous. In practice, however, (that is, where God's previous working meets man's present response) Man must pursue God. Or, our part there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine. In the warm language of personal feeling this is stated in the forty second Psalm: "As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? This is deep calling unto deep, and the longing heart will understand it.
The doctrine of justification by faith- a biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-efforthes in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such man ner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God. The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be "received" without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is "saved", but he not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little."
~ A.W Tozer, The Pursuit of God
One who is full loathes honey but to the hungry even the bitter tastes sweet. ~ Proverbs 27:7
How even more true this is for us today in the 21st century. Following after homosexuality is like drinking a cup of wine with vinegar. It gives the appearance of feeling good with a slight buzzing feel from the alcohol. The taste is bitter with the result of being made sick after partaking it and after a while it doesn't really satisfy the deeper hunger--the pursuit of God; only in the pursuit of God do we truly come to see our deeper more truer selves. It is in our pursuit of God that we come to understand our true identity in Christ. It seems to me that many Pastors encourage people to be content with little and seem to force those of us who struggle with unwanted same sex attraction to drink from the bitter cup of wine mixed with vinegar when they say that the only option for somebody struggling with unwanted same sex attraction is celibacy. What I say is pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ, pursue holiness and allow for God to stir up what may very well be locked away in some prison in the deeper places of our heart, and then in reciprocation allow for what's being stirred up within to surface. This perhaps is where we need the most courage because here is where we face our fears, our failures, and our greatest of disappointments. It is only then we gain a sense of who we are as men and women created in God's Image.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. ~ Proverbs 13:12
All I know is that when I pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ and follow hard after Him... there are mornings I wake up only to be surprised by what has awakened within me.
0 comments:
Post a Comment