This is a serious and often distressing sensation common to most Christians at some point in their life. I recently started reading The Best of A.W. Tozer. I think this is my third time through this two-volume set and once again I am finding Tozer to be one of the most clear, motivating authors I have encountered. Tozer addresses those who feel far from God in Nearness Is Likeness.
Here’s a few excerpts:
Space has to do with matter and spirit is independent of it.
When man fell through sin he began to think of himself as having a soul instead of being one. It makes a lot of difference whether a man believes he is a body having a soul of a soul having a body. CS Lewis also illuminates this truth in Mere Christianity when he reminds us that none of us have met “a mere mortal man”.
When we speak of being “far” from God we are not talking about physical distance. This is stating the obvious but it leads to the important question of what is it that makes you far from God and Tozer answers:
The Lord said of Israel, “Their heart is far from me,” and there we have the definition of far and near in our relation to God. The words refer not to physical distance but to likeness.
For the moral unlikeness between man and God the bible has a word - alienation. Because there is no moral likeness there is no communion, hence the sense of physical distance.
Something to think about next time you feel far from God - if he is not truly far away then how does my heart differ from his?
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