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Seeking the Face of God
Author, Gary Thomas
Reviewer, Kim Winters
I received Seeking the Face of God by Gary Thomas from a dear friend as a Christmas gift in 1995. I think one of the main reasons I first read it was because the friend who gave it to me had a great deal of suffering in her life, and yet maintained a profound joy in the Lord. On the inside front cover she wrote, “I delight in you my sweet, sweet sister! I pray the King of the Universe will use us together to bring Him great glory!” There was something so compelling about her love for Christ and for others. I wanted to know everything she knew so that I could enjoy that same love. I read every book she ever gave me, and this was one of them.
Seeking the Face of God is a small book (about 200 pages) but it packs a gigantic punch! It is a virtual treasure trove of ancient wisdom–quotes and excerpts of ancient Christian writers that the author has woven together in such a helpful way. Each quote or statement has something profound to say about our love relationship with Jesus Christ. Every page seemed to speak volumes to me when I first read it, and even on subsequent reads I have been amazed at how the Lord speaks to me through this little wonder of a book!
The first and most important thing about this book is the author’s thirst for God. This has always been what I look for in any author I read – someone who loves God most of all. I guess I feel like I can always learn something from someone like that, even if the topic is not exactly up my alley. In reading this book, you can’t help but discern Thomas’ genuine love for Christ and his passion to serve Him and know Him at all costs.
Right away in the book it is evident that Thomas wants us to put Christ back where He belongs, in the center of everything. I liked this as it resonated with what I had been learning from my husband, Pastor Nate Winters, and his ministry philosophy of reaching young adults with who God is. Thomas gave me more insights into this by taking me (in his book) down “the ancient path” (Jeremiah 6:16) and bringing to life the lives and writings of some of our ancient Christian writers who knew God well. These were people I had never heard of before with names like Francois Fenelon, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, John Climacus and William Law. I was amazed that people like this even existed and were well known by many! As I read their insights into God’s character, I felt like someone who had suddenly—which is exactly what I did! After reading this book, I quickly purchased several books by the ancient authors themselves and grew by leaps and bounds simply by being further exposed to their love for Christ. Even today I regularly refer to a book that is one of my all-time favorites—a compilation of letters by Fenelon (but that’s another book review).
Seeking the Face of God is much like a survey of the ancients—not too much to overwhelm, and not too little to make you feel like you are wasting your time. Thomas gives us the perfect “taste” of each ancient author, just enough to stimulate our hearts and minds and whet our appetite for more. Like Goldilocks so eloquently said, “this porridge is just right!” It is a book that God used to jumpstart my deeper journey into the writings of the ancients. Bu it is also a great book just to give you an overview of their wisdom and insights - a book that will make you feel like you at least have a working knowledge of their lives and writings. Even gleaning a little bit from people who have such a burning passion for God is beneficial, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with this book.
My favorite chapter in the book (and the chapter that had the biggest impact on me) was Living in a Dying World, The Remembrance of Death. Sounds like a real upper – but indeed it is! I think the most encouraging thing about this chapter is that it dealt so perfectly with a topic that caused me much alarm and discomfort. “Death can be a Comforter” was a section that changed my life forever. Since reading it I have never looked at death the same.
I hope you’ll take the time to read this little jewel of a book (available now at the WSEFC library). It is one I refer back to time and again, and is definitely a staple in my biblical counseling tool chest. Since writing this book, Thomas has written several other wonderfully helpful and insightful books, but none of them have impacted me quite as strongly as this one. I was so glad to learn that Gary Thomas has actually been a special speaker here at West Shore a while back! How I would have loved an opportunity to hear him first hand! May God bless you as you read this book, and may He encourage you to press on in your walk with Him.
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