Pastor Bob

 [This was written in March 2018]

More books are published in the United States each year than are humanly possible to read. The data is difficult to interpret, but according to Worldmeters (http://www.worldometers.info/books/), 328,259 books were published in the United States in 2010, not including the rest of the world. That is an insane number of books! And how do we choose what to read?

Someone once told me, “Make sure for every new book you read, read one of the great classics!” And by “classics,” they were referring to the Christian classics. I read an article last year that echoed that sentiment where someone suggested that for every two new books that one reads, one should read one classic. And honestly, that got me thinking!

Book preferences, like music, art, films, etc., are subjective. What is attractive to one is downright dull to another. Often, a friend, acquaintance, or even a stranger has politely encouraged a particular book, novel, or the latest self-help best-seller. Unfortunately, not all their recommendations were home runs (some were terrible!). Against this backdrop, I would like to suggest a book, one of the great Christian “classics,” that I believe would benefit any person who has trusted Jesus as their Savior and is seeking to grow in their faith and closeness to God.

There is a plethora of Christian classics to choose from. Truly “classics,” such as Pilgrim’sProgress or Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, to even more modern “classics” (modern classic seems like an oxymoron. However, I define classics as any work before the 20^th century, with any book published in the 20^th or 21^st century classified as “modern”). Mere Christianity, Knowing God, and In His Steps are good examples of these modern classics. And while I could have chosen any of the works mentioned above, I went a different route.

In 1948, a preacher & pastor with very little education (and no formal education) published a book (around 130 pages) titled The Pursuit of God. This uneducated preacher, who began his life on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, would eventually make his way to Akron, OH, where he would hear a street preacher instruct those listening how to be saved. When A.W. Tozer made it home that evening, he heeded the street evangelist’s words and came to faith in Jesus Christ in the attic of his home of all places, as told in The Life of A.W. Tozer by James L. Snyder.

There is little doubt that when Tozer published The Pursuit of God, no one, not even Tozer himself, would realize the phenomenon that it would be. Since the year of its original publication, The Pursuit of God has never spent one year without being in print. It has inspired both prince and pauper, theologian and laity. Renowned pastors and teachers have referenced and quoted it in their sermons and lessons. Famous pastor, teacher, and radio preacher Charles (Chuck Swindoll) has listed it as one of the five most influential Christian books he has ever read. With this extensive and storied background, I chose to read this Christian classic, The Pursuit of God.

The first thing that will surprise anyone who picks up a copy of The Pursuit of God (TPOG) is the smallness of it; it is quite a short book. Some would call it more of a booklet rather than a book. When I sought TPOG, this was a fact I was unaware of. In some ways, the book’s length has only added to its popularity over the years, not detracted. Often (especially to those who are not avid readers), a book’s size can be daunting and discouraging. Any person who picks up TPOG will, in no way, feel intimidated.

Reviewing such a gargantuan classic like TPOG is challenging as what could be said that has yet to be said? This is why I attempted not to peruse any review or critique of TPOG while I read it and in preparation for this article.

Without a doubt, the first thing that shocked me within the first pages was this: TPOG is timely. Published in 1948, this is different from what I was expecting! And by timely, I am referring to the idea that what Tozer wrote those many decades ago, save for the antiquated language, could have been written last week due to the overwhelming relevance to the American Church and Christians in the here and now.

This timeliness is evident as early as the first chapter, where we find quotes such as “The Modern Scientist has lost God amid the wonders of His world; we Christians are in real danger of losing God amid the wonders of His Word” or “Everything is made to center upon the initial act of “accepting” Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected to after that to crave any further revelation of God to our souls.”

The first quote still describes the “modern” scientists here in the present. The latter part describes the dire shape of the average Christian with their apathetic attitude to reading, meditating, and studying God’s Word. The second quote directly reflects what is expected of the Christian today, in 2018. The idea that a person can say a prayer and then, voila, they are a Christian who is not expected (nor taught) to “crave” God accurately depicts the Church today.

Tozer had an insatiable craving and a yearning to know God, even after he technically “knew” God in a saving way. This idea is the basis for, and reasoning behind, the writing of TPOG. Tozer was anything but complacent in his relationship with the Lord. His prayer life, meditation, and how he studied God’s Word are legends. As one reads TPOG, these qualities of Tozer’s ooze off the pages. This was a man who, indeed, was pursuing God, not just in lip service, but with the whole of his being and doing so in a way that appears and seems foreign to those of us who are Christians in this modern era.

With each turn of the page in TPOG, all who read it will sense Tozer’s outright disdain for complacency, as evidenced by the following quote: “The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of spiritual growth”. Tozer views this complacency as deadly in that it will result in a lack of spiritual growth. He felt that the religiosity of Believers had become rigid, almost fake, yet he added that it was primarily due to this “lack of holy desire.”

“Holy desire” is not a phrase in today’s culture (sadly, not even in evangelical churches). Have you lost the “holy desire” you once had? Or perhaps you never had it in the first place? Are you complacent with the study of God’s Word, or are you too distracted with things of this world or even activities that seem harmless, or as Tozer stated, “…a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart”?

I am glad that I finally chose to read The Pursuit of God after over two decades as a Believer. I could share many more quotes and anecdotes from the work, but anything I can say further would be a disservice to the great, convicting, simple, yet powerful book it is.

And while the title, The Pursuit of God, would make some believe that the book will lead to God, it does nothing! At its most basic level, the book is a starting point, a re-focusing; it is almost like an overdue invitation to gaze at the Almighty with fresh intent and new eyes. I can unequivocally state that it is successful in that intention.

We now come to where the rubber meets the road…should YOU read it? If you have not guessed, my answer is a resounding YES! And not only do I firmly believe that it should be read by Christians today, but it is also a book that will beg to be reread and again and again. Honestly, I could see myself reading The Pursuit of God every few years; it is impactful. Take a chance, pick up a copy, and begin your journey, or “pursuit” toward the High and Holy One, the Lord Almighty, and as Tozer rightfully states: “To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.”