All one needs to do is pick up a fork and start eating. I don't know what was available for help back then, but there are hundreds of resources we can go to in order to develop a more meaningful relationship with God. One quote that struck me was in the preface, "It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God's children starving while actually seated at the Father's table." Meaning that Christians want a deeper relationship with the God, but they don't know where to get it and this is not taught in church. I ended up downloading a public domain version of the book for Kindle. I enjoyed listening so much that I also wanted a written copy of this so I could read certain sections over again. My second reason for struggling through this book is much more about personal taste but the vocabulary Tozer used in his own writing and prayers is far too similar to the King James translation for me. This book has some truly great concepts and ideas, but like other Tozer books I've read they need to be compared to scripture and carefully pondered. While I believe we can make idols of our loved ones, I think there is also danger on the other side of the spectrum in that we can work so hard at loving Christ that we do not love other people and therefore fail at both. He evens states in this book that love of anyone, even family, will quickly overtake the rightful love of Christ that should mark the life of a believer. First, having learned how Tozer's family felt unloved by him, I can see how his ideas in this book lead him to neglect his family in an effort to have nothing earthly holding him back from Christ. I struggled through this one for a couple of reasons. In a world of shallow organized religion which never gets beyond the doling out of loaves and fishes (or donuts and coffee), this is a refreshing revisiting of a true spirituality-a love of God, because one loves the attributes of God-and for no other reason than that.
#Pursuit of god free full#
Much like Bonhoeffer, Tozer's theology is not one of hockus-pockus, miracles, magical rescues or voices in the night, promises of heavenly rewards or threats of punishments and damnation, not one of picnics, "pastor appreciation" dinners, or easter egg hunts, but rather a deep and abiding yearning for the everlasting goodness that is God-and again, not a longing borne of a seeking after the comforts of heaven or the avoidance of hell (a "cheap grace" as Bonhoeffer would say), but rather the full and complete wedding of oneself to the goodness of God and a willingness to suffer for that goodness and godliness- because one loves goodness and Godness and not for any other reason than that.