Monday, May 28, 2012

a demon in my view

In the introduction of A.W. Tozer's /In Pursuit of God/, Samuel Zwemer marvels at Tozer's ability to balance authorship with ministry in the city of Chicago. He even includes a poem about all the evils of the city--greed and demons and temptations at every corner, human wretchedness, ect.

I agree with Zwemer that it is difficult to balance writing with the business of one's life. Self-discipline is hard. However, I would argue that--if you're writing about the Christian life--a place surrounded with temptations and wretchedness and fear is the perfect place to be. These are demons we must all face, and an honest examination of the Christian life must deal with these topics in some form or another. What do we do with them--this is one of the Big Questions of the Christian faith. So if you're going to write a book about searching for God, where better to do it than in a place where you'll be surrounded by these issues? Where you cannot ignore, deny, run away, or forget?

I think a lot of people try to excuse some of the "petty" sins, like meanness, impatience, or selfishness, with the fact that they live in a culture or place where there are an awful lot of people doing the same thing. I know I certainly do. The thing is, though, that if your town is known for its mean streak, it's for you to change it--not to simply fall in line. Stand out! Be better!
Don't think about everything you're doing wrong--think about the ways you can serve God and others. As my mother has been busily writing in graduation cards, with Him there are no regrets.
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In other news: in the middle of moving to the South! So excited for all the new experiences, people, places! God has been very good.
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Pax

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