The sacred page is not meant to be the end, but only the means toward the end, which is knowing God Himself.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that religious texts are tools to help us understand and connect with God rather than being an end in themselves.
Aiden Wilson Tozer's quote suggests that the purpose of sacred scriptures is not simply to be read or revered in isolation but rather to guide individuals towards a deeper relationship with the divine. The 'sacred page' serves as a pathway through which believers can gain insight and understanding about God, highlighting the importance of relationship over mere knowledge.
In practice
In a sermon discussing the importance of faith, one might reference this quote to emphasize that understanding scripture is vital to developing a personal relationship with God.
Peace of heart that is won by refusing to bear the common yoke of human sympathy is a peace unworthy of a Christian. To seek tranquility by stopping our ears to the cries of human pain is to make ourselves not Christian but a kind of degenerate stoic having no relation either to stoicism or Christianity.
The average Christian is so cold and so contented with His wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.
Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free. If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God's dear sake, then we can enjoy spiritual tranquility under every circumstance.
The church that can't worship must be entertained. And leaders who can't lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment.
Before the Christian Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question, βWhat is God like?β and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind
People who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks: 1. they are facing only one direction, 2. they can never turn back, and 3. they no longer have plans of their own.
One might pray and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a Christian and not pray.
I have never changed my message. I preach the Bible, and I preach it with authority.
It is not always those who have the most eminent gifts who are the most successful laborers for God. It is generally those who keep up closest communion with Christ and are most constant in prayer.
Dearest Jesus, holy child, make thee a bed, soft, undefiled, within my heart, that it may be a quiet chamber kept for thee.
What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.
If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.