The moment the Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition. That is the heavenly birth without which we cannot see the kingdom of God. It is, however, not an end but an inception, for now begins the glorious pursuit the heart’s happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead. That is where we begin, I say, but where we stop no man has yet discovered, for there is in the awful and mysterious depths of the Triune God neither limit nor end.
Shoreless Ocean, who can sound
Thee?
Thine own eternity is round Thee,
Majesty divine!
To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy existence by the children of the burning heart.
-A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) was a 20th century spiritiual leader in the Wesleyan tradition whose works were recognized as classics even in his own lifetime. He ministered on many fronts, including pastoring and publishing, always inviting people into deeper intimacy with God.