Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
--------------------From the Westminster Shorter Catechism
Doesn't that tell us what we should be doing with our time here? Or is it too often read to mean that in the end, the very end, we will be engaged entirely in glorifying God and enjoying Him forever, but not until then?
Fraid so. Fraid that is often how it is read. It doesn't seem to inspire believers to pursue the enjoyment of God in this life at any rate, though as I read it now that's what it should accomplish.
Then I found The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, edited by Tozer, a kindle version for 99 cents. His statement about how he chose the poetry he included in the book encourages me to high expectations. He says primarily it reflects
...my own bent, though I have been guided somewhat by a few simple rules. First, all sentimental verse was excluded, along with everything homey and maudlin. The only healthy emotions are those aroused by great ideas, and even these must be restrained and purified by the Spirit of God or they will spend themselves in weak and sterile rhymes. Of such there is enough in the religious world; I think none will be found in this book.
An unexpected eagerness to hear God praised in verse surprises me. God's lovers down the centuries possessing Him, possessed by Him, pass on their passion, capturing streams of living water from the mountains of the Bible, forming pools that draw the panting deer.
As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee. -- Psalm 42
There's a song about it too, many versions of which are at You Tube.
If my breath quickens at the thought of reading this poetry about God it reassures me that He hasn't abandoned me after all.
How did the term "mysticism" come under such opprobrium in the Protestant churches? Is it only because of those who did deviate from scripture? So many more were true to scripture and Tozer makes clear that was a major criterion for his choices. A Christian mystic, a genuine Christian mystic, is one who put more passion into the Christian life than others did. That's basically it. That deeper passion is expressed in lengthy times of prayer and devotional reading, including reading the Bible, and that lengthy time spent leads sometimes to supernatural experiences of God. This isn't people starting out looking for experiences at all, however, this is people drawn by Biblical truth to more intense worship and seeking of God than others are, for whatever reason. If spiritual and supernatural experiences occur they are God's reward for such intense devotion.
It seems a shame that this pursuit isn't encouraged from the pulpit so that more people would be drawn in this same way to the deeper life. It's there to be had. It's in the scripture, it's just a matter of heart engagement.
Certainly we are exhorted to spend time in prayer, but often it's in the context of getting people who hardly pray at all to pray at least a little more. And I've needed that exhortation myself, sorry to say. Certainly we are exhorted to love and adore God, and most Christians would say they do, but it seems to be very limited by the demands of daily life.
But also by low expectations. More time can always be made for whatever truly engages our hearts. What would it take to draw more people to lengthier and deeper times with God? You can't just criticize the lack of it, you can't just recommend more of it, somehow you have to inspire the motivation that is lacking. What sort of preaching? What sort of accommodations among God's people? Somehow it has to be made clear that it is possible, that scripture calls us to it, that God Himself calls us to it, that God promises to draw near to those who seek Him diligently.
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Churches often set up retreats, usually for a long weekend in some place of natural beauty, and more prayer is usually encouraged in that context, but still it's mostly just a more intensive time of hearing preaching, interspersed with recreations of various sorts. It's always seemed to me that a time of fasting should be encouraged and times of solitude, directed solitude perhaps, based on devotional scripture readings or the like. Then group prayer and worship too, but not broken for "lunch" where the focus beomes the usual social chitchat, or a ball game or whatnot. The point of a retreat is to deepen the Christian life, but except for spending more time overall in more or less spiritual pursuits, it is too fragmented to do much in the way of deepening spiritual life. Surely people feel refreshed after such a retreat, but is the refrelshment much more spiritual than a good vacation would produce?
Where the Reformation took hold Luther disbanded the monasteries and convents, and no doubt for the best of reasons as nothing of much spiritual importance was going on there either. Nevertheless, there were those that had provided spiritual inspiration and guidance down the centuries, and some form of provision for that purpose should be part of Protetant life as well.
There have certainly been times in Protestant life that had a similarly encouraging effect on the spirtiual life. Family devotions were often such an influence. People would go home after Sunday service to spend the afternoon discussing the sermon and praying. There may be some of that going on now, I hope so.
Genuine times of God-wrought revival, when God Himself comes down and takes possession of His people, are known for being so attractive that people don't want to leave church after the service, and often the service has already had to give way to outpourings of both penitential and devotional feeling in the congregation. And others from around the community are drawn to join in so that there is a need for larger and larger spaces to accommodate them all. They want to be in church, they don't want to leave, the Presence of God enraptures them.
I'm finding it is possible to rebuild my lost spiritual life at least to some extent. Spending more time in prayer and asking God specifically to increase my love for Him and my ability to mortify my sins. So He hasn't deserted me. Tears come frequently, both of sadness and of joy. After my thoughts have wandered off to who-knows-where, some mundane concern, some political situation, when I bring my mind back to the thought of God my whole being is melted, the tensions in my body dissolve, I'm in a lovely peaceful state, even perhaps a bit of a "swoon." . Just the thought. As many of the mystic poets write, that's all it takes, just the thought of God to transport us into His presence or receive His peace. This comes of course as a result of increased prayer and time seeking the Lord and it isn't going to happen otherwise. "Jesus the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills my breast." For me it's peace, for him sweetness. Just the thought, just turning the mind to the idea of God, nothing more than that. Some write of "gazing" on God. I don't know if that is different from turning one's thought to Him or not. Perhaps someday I'll know.
