It’s not enough to root religion out of our systems of church, we must get religion out of ourselves.
This is no easy task as religion offers a subtle and powerful substitute for deep relationship with God. It can be so easy to wrap our life with the externals of duty, performance, or ‘right living,’ and ignore the fundamental reality that we were made to deeply know and encounter God.
Perhaps I can best stir our hearts on this by quoting from A.W. Tozer and his landmark book, The Pursuit of God:
“The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion.”
“The moment the Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition.”
“David's life was a torrent of spiritual desire, and his psalms ring with the cry of the seeker and the glad shout of the finder. Paul confessed the mainspring of his life to be his burning desire after Christ.”
“I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire.”
“If we would find God amid all the religious externals we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity. Now as always God discovers Himself to ‘babes’ and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and prudent… We must put away all efforts 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.”
May God awaken, today, our first love for Him and Him alone.
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Categories for this post include house church, simple church, organic church
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