A.W. Tozer:

"Much that passes for Christianity today is the brief bright effort of the severed branch to bring for its fruit in its season. But the deep laws of life are against it. Preoccupation with appearances and a corresponding neglect of the out of sight root of the true spiritual life are prophetic signs which go unheeded.... The whole Bible and all the great saints of the past join to tell us the same thing. "Take nothing for granted," they say to us. "Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross, follow your Lord and pay no attention to the passing religious vogue. The masses are always wrong. In every generation the number of the righteous is small. Be sure you are among them." (Quoted from "The Inspirational Study Bible, from "The Best of Tozer" compiled by Warren Wiersbe. The bold is mine.)

How much does Tozer kick ass? Just that simple 5 word sentance is enough to change my life. You usually think of great theologians as being so entrenched in their own theology and denominational boundaries, and so seeking fame for their own perspective that they would be want to really say the masses are wrong, and that the passing religious vogue is a negative thing. Now it is all Purpose Driven Life and Wild at Heart. He is pointing out that all of those "good" people that many Christians try to emulate, seeking acceptance and to ease their conscience by conforming to the mold of the "severed branch" culture that surrounds them are wrong, and that we are failing to be what we are really called to be if we appear to fit in. "The masses are always wrong."

But one must ask why? Why are the masses wrong. Isn't it possible that we could all of one accord seek out the truth and have found it in W.W.J.D. bracelelts and singing vegetables? Well, first I don't really believe that we could collectively seek anything without some misscommunications, and some people doing it merely to fit in. But to a lareger extent, anytime that the masses label a behavior as right, and what we are supposed to do, it cannot be true because we do not all have the same path or calling.

My small group has been reading "The Barbarian Way," in which the author talks about how John the Baptist was in prison and pretty much asks Jesus to get him out of this situation, but Jesus refuses, even though he otherwise has done far more dramatic miracles. It was simply that Jesus knew that John had a different destiny from the majority. And the challenge comes, are we brave enough- do we have enough resilience and faith to step out into this destiny. Can we know that this life is but a breath- less than that- it is the inhilation before a long sigh? Can we look stupid? Can we look dorky by talking to others who may be unkind to us, or look different from us? So much of life I can relate back to the behavior of my preschoolers, and also to my life in high school. Huh, looks like that time of my life wasn't a waste after all. Curious.