A.W Tozer writes in his book “The Attributes of God”
“The Bible knew
nothing about “the laws of nature.” The
Bible knows only that God was there. If
it rained, it was God watering His hills from His chambers. If there was lightning, it was God, and if
there was thunder, it was the “voice of the LORD” that “maketh the hinds to
calve” (Psalm 29:9). The writers of
Scripture were acutely God-conscious, and they were never lonely because God
was there. “Surely the Lord is in this
place; and I knew it not.” said Jacob (Genesis 28:16). This Idea that god is an absentee engineer
running His universe by remote control is all wrong. He is present in perpetual and continual
eagerness, with all the fervor of rapturous love pressing His holy
designs. If you don’t feel that way
about it, it’s unbelief that makes you feel otherwise; it’s preoccupation with
this world.”
In the age of Science, we now have laws of nature, where we
explain everything away into a tight little package. This is how we want to explain God, but He
will not, and cannot be explained away like this! How much of the life of the common Christian
is just explained away by nature? This
leads us to think naturally about everything, and expect nothing
supernatural. It’s a walking unbelief and
preoccupation with the world, says Tozer!
No wonder we have so many skeptic Christians in this
world. Romans 12 tells us to renew our
minds, but the average Christian thinks that he or she only needs to renew
enough of their mindset to acquire a get out of Hell free card. Or that sure the Bible is God’s Word, but
modern man needs more. Sure they might
venture further into the renewing of their mind when a crisis comes, say their
marriage is in trouble, or they have a wayward child; but it doesn’t say to
renew just a piece of their mind.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2
The World thinks naturally – is not that, the basis of
Philosophical Naturalism? That Nature
and the Laws of Nature are all that exist. It brings the view of God down to something
manageable, or not there at all. People
have used the tools of Science, not for the good of man, but for the elevation
and deification of man. It’s natural for
man to think he can handle this life on his own.
Even this is how the average Christian operates, with little
consciousness of God in the midst of all things. He is conformed, not to the Word of God, but
to the rudimentary things of this world.
He has such a low view of God, and creates a high view of himself. When Jesus says to deny ourselves and pick
up our Cross, the Skeptic Christian does not see it as a divine command to be
obeyed, but a natural consequence of being a Christian.
Oh what misery, this naturalistic view of God has done in my
life! C.S. Lewis rightly said that to be
free from myself is like a drop of water to a man in the desert! Be pricked in your heart and ask God whatever
shall I do? And He will say – repent,
and turn to Me! To see God as the author
and finisher of our faith, to count it all as loss and to be found in Him!
