The Pursuit of God by Tozer – Reflections (6)

Chapter One is titled, Following Hard after God, it begins with Psalm 63:8, “My soul follows hard after You, Your right hand upholds me.”

Tozer’s first statement is, “Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which, briefly stated, means that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man.” Later on page 11 he continues, “We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit. “No man can come to me,” said our Lord, “except the Father which has sent me draw him,” and it is by this prevenient drawing that God takes from us every vestige of credit for the act of coming.” 

Tozer thus lays the foundation for the rest of the book, for he wants us to make no mistake, our pursuit of God is initiated by God’s pursuit of us – Jesus is the Author and the Completer of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

The psalmist writes, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1). As Jesus says, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

An often-misquoted verse is Philippians 2:12, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” It is misquoted because it leaves out the rest of the sentence, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). We can only work because God is already working, we can only respond to what God is already doing. God pursues us so that we can respond by pursuing Him. 

Consider Paul’s statement at the beginning of Philippians, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Jesus began His work in us and Jesus will perfect His work in us – in this confidence in Jesus we can pursue God and encourage one another.

On page 12 Tozer writes, “On our part there must be positive reciprocation if this secret drawing of God is to eventuate in identifiable experience of the Divine” [italics mine]. As Tozer will develop, to know God is to experience God; it is not simply to know about Him, it is to be in relationship with Him. To pursue God is to pursue relationship, to pursue friendship, to pursue familial intimacy, to pursue koinonia. 

If someone asks me about my relationship with my wife I ought to be able to describe it, should this not also be the case if someone asks me about my relationship with God? (I’ll also note that some elements of relationships are private, and ought to be private.)  Just as with earthly fathers and mothers, each child’s relationship is personal, private, and also shared as common ground with other siblings. (Note that personal and private are two different things.)

People who know me know that I am married to Vickie. In my business career not only did my direct reports (and others) know I was married to Vickie, they knew Vickie, they spent time with Vickie in our home as we regularly gathered as a group to enjoy meals and hospitality as we engaged in business. There were other times when Vickie was invited to functions. When I was involved in serving in our industry’s trade association my competitors and suppliers knew Vickie, for she attended many functions with me.  We have enjoyed a lifetime of friendships and associations from my business career…and from hers.

People who know us, who truly know us, know who and what is at the core of our lives, they know what our hearts beat for. 

Men and women who worked for me also knew, in various degrees of understanding, that Jesus Christ is at the core of my life and marriage. Why would I hide either Jesus or Vickie? For sure there were times when others no doubt thought I was a poor example as a Christian or pastor, and I have had times when I needed to witness to others by asking forgiveness and apologizing and saying I was sorry (but that’s not a bad thing, is it?) And looking back I see that I missed many opportunities for more apologies and to be a more faithful witness. (These jars of clay that Paul writes about keep getting in the way!)

Might we say that we can hide what we believe and think, but we can’t hide what and who we love? 

I wonder if perhaps we’ve substituted things for Tozer’s identifiable experience? 

Do we know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or do we only know about them? 

Are we loving them with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength in an identifiable experience, an identifiable way of life?

Are we pursuing God as He pursues us?