Monday, November 22, 2010

My Present Need

An extract from a letter by Martyn Lloyd-Jones to his good friend, the Rev. Philip E. Hughes. Lloyd-Jones mentioned several good books that had been recently published, books by Oswald T. Allis, Cornelius Van Til, and a book written by several faculty members of Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. He said, "These seem to me the more important books to which I should draw your attention." But having pointed out the vital importance of good books for ministers, "the Doctor," as he was often called, gave a spiritual diagnosis of a different sort. The letter was written April 17, 1946.

All these things are of real importance but more and more I feel that my present need is "to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings" [Phil. 3:10]. Clear ideas are vital and clear thinking but that is not enough. I feel my love to Him is so cold and so poor and so weak. Yet He is gracious and kind.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Letters 1919-1981, Selected with Notes, by Ian H. Murray, Banner of Truth, 1994, p. 72.

No comments: