The Simple Life

Now this is eternal life:  that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

A.W. Tozer is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Christian authors.  I am currently reading a 31-day compilation of his book The Pursuit of God (1995).  Each reading, though relatively short in length, is packed full of insights which pull me deep into thought and personal reflection.  I often find myself uncomfortable and challenged.  Though written decades ago, yesterday his words spoke to me with timeless relevancy:

“Right now we are in an age of religious complexity.  The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.  The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.” (pg. 14)

My days are currently filled with all sorts of nervous activities.  Countless numbers of “shoulds” and “oughts” which are slowly diluting the significance of this season, not to mention living in general.  I’d like to blame it on the holidays, but the truth is I struggle to keep God as the focal point of my attention in March just as much as December.  Though my mornings may begin full of optimism and good intentions, the many tasks and responsibilities of each day can leave me exhausted and empty by evening.  The conflict lies in the fact that many of these tasks are noble in purpose!  Volunteer projects, church events, time with my children, special encounters with friends.  However, somewhere through the course of a day I allow them to eclipse the greatest pursuit of all–to know Christ.  There is no more noble or life-giving endeavor than to know the only true God. 

A life hinged on this kind of wholehearted pursuit is not easily accomplished.  Those who want to experience this simpler, deeper, and more satisfying life will find it requires fierce determination, a wrestling of the will and an insatiable hunger for the face of God above all else.     

 “We must put away all effort to impress and come with the guileless candor of childhood.  If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.  When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself.” (pg. 15)

The guileless candor of a child.  Reminds me of a baby in a manger.  The pure presence of God in human flesh.  No fanfare, no need for applause or expensive accommodations, though certainly deserving of it.  God came simply as Emmanuel, God with us, to meet our deepest and most complex need.  A need that was never intended to be met by religion or nervous activities, people or things, but only by HIMSELF.   

Show Me Thy Face

Show me Thy face–one transient gleam

of loveliness divine,

and I shall never think or dream

of other love save Thine:

All lesser light will darken quite,

All lower glories wane,

The beautiful of earth will scarce

seem beautiful again.

Show me Thy face–my faith and love

shall henceforth fixed be,

And nothing here have power to move

my soul’s serenity.

My life shall seem a trance, a dream,

And all I feel and see

Illusive, visionary–Thou

The one reality!

Show me Thy face–I shall forget

the weary days of yore,

the fretting ghosts of vain regret

shall haunt my soul no more.

All doubts and fears for future years

In quiet trust subside,

and naught but blest content and calm

Within my breast abide.

Show me Thy face–the heaviest cross

Will then seem light to bear;

there will be gain in every loss,

and peace with every care.

With such light feet the years will fleet,

life seem as brief as blest,

Till I have laid my burden down,

and entered into rest.

–Author Unknown

(from The Pursuit of God, a 31-Day Experience by A.W. Tozer, compiled by Edythe Draper.  1995.  Camp Hill, PA:  Christian Publications, Inc.  pg. 18)