Along the Way

Faith: The Gaze of the Soul

I've found A. W. Tozer's insights on faith to be a great encouragement and challenge to me in my desire to please God. In his book, The Pursuit of God, he describes faith as "the gaze of a soul upon a saving God." Jesus used a dramatic Old Testament story to illustrate saving faith in himself. God told Moses to elevate a brass serpent on a pole for all the poisoned people to look to for deliverance from death (Numbers 21:4-9). Tozer points out that look and believe are synonymous terms.

Believing, then, is directing the heart's attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to "beholding the Lamb of God," and never ceasing that beholding for the rest of our lives. In my struggle with the sin of pride I find this liberating. For this perspective of faith is so selfless. Tozer observes, "Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves - blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his own soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.

"Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be. Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line."

Lord, I hear you calling me to look away from self to gaze upon You and be satisfied. My heart longs to respond, but the sin of pride has clouded my vision so much that the sight of You is dim. Please cleanse me with the powerful blood of Jesus, and make me pure so that I may have a clear vision of You all the days of my earthly journey. Amen.