Cochrane Alliance Church

Last week I read a good chunk of Lyle Dorsett’s Biography on A.W. Tozer (A Passion for God, Moody Publishers, 2008). A gifted writer and preacher, Tozer stands out as one of the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s brightest lights (A.B. Simpson would be the other luminary. Maybe the secret is to use your initials rather than your full name. If only my parents had named me AlisterJason Koleba!)

There is no questioning Tozer’s passion to know Christ intimately and serve him without reserve. What surprised me was his seeming inability to connect with people, particularly his family, in an intimate way. After A.W. passed away his, wife Ada married a widower who attended Avenue Road Church in Toronto. When asked if she was happy in her new marriage she responded, “I have never been happier in my life. Aiden loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me” (160).  She summed up her first marriage this way, “My husband was so close to God, a man of such deep prayer, always on his knees, that he could not communicate with me or our family” (144).

I have to admit, those statements scare me. Is it possible to love God so much that you don’t have much love left for your family? That would seem to contradict the great commandment which calls for love of God and neighbour. Although it may not be completely true yet, I hope my wife and kids will be able to say of me, “As Jason’s love for Jesus grew, so did his love for us.”