Having Fun in His Name?
These comments by A.W. Tozer are just are applicable today as they were over 50 years ago when he wrote them.
"Any appeal to the public in the name of Christ that rises no higher than an invitation to tranquillity must be recognized as mere humanism with a few words of Jesus thrown in to make it appear Christian...
Christ calls men to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in His name. He calls them to forsake the world; we assure them that if they but accept Jesus the world is their oyster. He calls them to suffer; we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords. He calls them to self-abnegation and death; we call them to spread themselves like green bay trees or perchance even to become stars in a pitiful fifth-rate religious zodiac. He calls them to holiness; we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness that would have been rejected with scorn by the least of the Stoic philosophers...
We can afford to suffer now; we'll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves. And our enjoyment will be valid and pure, for it will come in the right way at the right time."
"Lord, may I be faithful to call people to that which is important to You, at whatever cost. Amen."
(Tozer on Christian Leadership, December 27)
"Any appeal to the public in the name of Christ that rises no higher than an invitation to tranquillity must be recognized as mere humanism with a few words of Jesus thrown in to make it appear Christian...
Christ calls men to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in His name. He calls them to forsake the world; we assure them that if they but accept Jesus the world is their oyster. He calls them to suffer; we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords. He calls them to self-abnegation and death; we call them to spread themselves like green bay trees or perchance even to become stars in a pitiful fifth-rate religious zodiac. He calls them to holiness; we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness that would have been rejected with scorn by the least of the Stoic philosophers...
We can afford to suffer now; we'll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves. And our enjoyment will be valid and pure, for it will come in the right way at the right time."
"Lord, may I be faithful to call people to that which is important to You, at whatever cost. Amen."
(Tozer on Christian Leadership, December 27)
posted by kennyo at 6:52 PM
1 Comments:
The "have fun in his name" bit is kind of an easy target. I was more interested in Tozer's comments about the, " bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords." From what I've read about Tozer he didn't own a car and donated the royalties from his books to the poor. Inspiring, but hard to live up to.
How many of us see Christianity as a call to give up our cars? Or our cushy home computers and internet connections?
Interesting to ponder how my possessions may keep me from being the kind of servant God wants.
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