THE TYRANNY of "THINGS" - Tozer
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
by A.W. Tozer
Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when He said to His
disciples, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save
his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my
sake shall find it" (Matt. 16:24-25).
Breaking this truth into fragments for our better understanding,
it would seem that there is within each of us an enemy which
we tolerate at our peril. Jesus called it "life" and "self," or as we
would say, the self-life. Its chief characteristic is its possessive-
ness: the words gain and profit suggest this. To allow this
enemy to live is, in the end, to lose everything. To repudiate it
and give up all for Christ´s sake is to lose nothing at last, but
to preserve everything unto life eternal. And possibly also a hint
is given here as to the only effective way to destroy this foe: it
is by the cross. "Let him take up his cross and follow me." ...
The Way of Renunciation
If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy, we must go
this way of renunciation. And if we are set upon the pursuit of
God, He will sooner or later bring us to this test... So we will
be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never
know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no
dozen possible choices for us-just one and an alternative-
but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make.
Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to
give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding,
and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I
come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all
those things which I have cherished so long and which have
become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter
and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place
of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the
sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there
shall be no night there. In Jesus´ name, Amen.
~Source-
renovare.org/articles/blessedness-possessing-nothing