Off the Bookshelf: THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY by A.W. Tozer

My discussion group on Wednesday night at church is reading this book. We're meeting until the middle of December -- I just finished reading this. Always a smart idea to have actually read the chapters you're going to discuss in class that night before you get there.

This is definitely one of those books that should be read and re-read on a regular basis. Even though it's fairly small -- only 94 pages in my iBooks application -- there's a lot to think about, a lot to learn.

Knowledge of the Holy = understanding all the many facets of the character of God, and what they mean. Even more important, how those different aspects of God relate to those of us who claim to be His followers, and what that means in our lives. The closer we come to a better understanding of the God we claim we serve (yes, I keep saying "claim" because how many of us actually live up to what we say we are, what we say we do, what we say we believe? I mean, really?) the deeper the implications and the more imperative it is to live what we believe.

This book presents and defends the premise that what the modern Church thinks it knows about God ... ain't necessarily so. Even though this was written a number of decades ago, the truths it presents and the fallacies that the Church and so-called Christians and the disbelieving world in general supports about God are still applicable. We are just as guilty now as the people of Tozer's day were of painting a picture of God that diminishes His power and holiness, changing Him from the God to whom we owe everything, and who we should adore and love and fear, to essentially a big cuddly, slightly fuddled grandfather who just wants everyone to get along and lets us do our own will instead of His.

I'm going to make it a goal to try to read this book at least twice a year. Enough time for me to be able to look back and see if the last reading made any difference. Maybe something will strike me as new, or what has happened to me in the last six months will have an impact.

I highly recommend you get this book, and others by Tozer, and get reading. They'll make a difference. The man is easy to read, which means you'll spend more time thinking about what he said rather than trying to untangle HOW he said it, and that translates into having an impact sooner.