I have been thinking for a while what is holy living? I believe it is the pursuit of God. The thirst for God and we will not be satisfied until we have drunk deeply at the fountain of living water…. the desire for God above all.
A.W. Tozer once wrote, “For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself; and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and centre of their being, their spirit.” It was no wonder the Psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).
Too often we are ever so contented with just knowing the principles of the doctrines of Christ and we are satisfied with the fundamentals of faith. So much so we may feel that nothing is unusual in our personal lives. We are contented with the doctrine of being saved but lacked the hunger or thirst after Christ. God has to be experienced and to be tasted. No amount of Bible reading will help us to grow deeper in our relationship with Him if we do not exercise our intellectual understanding of what we read with the response in deed and life applications. Are we willing to risk losing everything and trust God even when we face adversity? Can we believe that His marvellous plan is to prosper us and not to harm us even in the midst of facing misfortune, persecution and oppression? We can never experience God when we cannot trust Him in the first place even when trusting Him is going against the grain… when all worldly logic points in one direction but yet we choose to go the other way in obedience to God. No fear of consequences and its final outcome. Just trust in Him alone.
In the story of Abraham and Isaac we know very well that God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son. It is a dramatic picture of the surrendered life. Abraham was old and the child was the delight and idol of his heart. He offered Isaac his son as God had directed him to do and then trusted God. This was Abraham’s trial by fire. Dreadful and excruciatingly painful it must have been but Abraham did not fail for he was willing to trust all in God.
We too will have our moments when we need to bring our status, ego, fear, wealth which we cling on so tightly to and the things of this world we love so much, and lay them before the Lord and surrender to Him. Are we willing to experience Him when the time comes?
Finally, at the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in a conscious awareness of His presence.
By Juan Hui, Deacon (YCKC Bulletin 3&4 September 2016)