A Testament of Devotion

"The problem we face today needs very little time for its statement. Our lives ... grow too complex and overcrowded ... in frantic fidelity we try to meet at least the necessary minimum of calls upon us. But we're weary and breathless. And we know and regret that our life is slipping away ... in guilty regret we must postpone till next week that deeper life of unshaken composure in the holy Presence, where we sincerely know our true home is, for this week is much too full" (89-90).Originally published by Quaker author Thomas Kelly in 1941, these words from A Testament of Devotion have never been more applicable than today. We live in a time of unprecedented complexity and confusion. Our high tech culture is obsessed with novelties, gadgets and an endless variety of "time-saving" electronic devices. The world has never known a society with more leisure time on its hands, and yet, we are among the most chronically exhausted, stressed-out people on the planet. There must be a better way!"For over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of richer living which we know we are passing by ... we have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power. If only we could slip over into that Center!" (92).Thankfully, the author offers hope for those of us who continue to struggle against the forces that would keep us from "slipping over into that Center" of Divine Love, out of which we are enabled to love others as we have been loved by God. The hope Kelly offers us can be found not only in the words he writes, but in the life he, and others, lived. Citing the examples of prominent Quakers such as George Fox and John Woolman, Kelly highlights those traits that set these spiritual leaders apart as passionately devoted followers of Jesus Christ.The greatest insight for me, however, came through my reading of the biographical memoir written by Kelly's close friend and colleague, Doug Steere, which is attached to the end of the book. Here we discover that living out of the Divine Center came late in life for this intellectually restless, professionally ambitious, Harvard-trained, Quaker scholar. According to Steere, the pivotal event took place sometime in the autumn of 1937, during which time "a new life direction took place in Thomas Kelly. No one knows exactly what happened, but ... a fissure in him seemed to close, cliffs caved in and filled up a chasm, and what was divided grew together within him" (118). A year later, following a summer visit among Friends in Germany, Kelly himself testified to Steere, "It is wonderful. I have been literally melted down by the love of God" (120).Could it be that each of us is not so different from Thomas Kelly, not to mention George Fox, John Woolman and every other prominent spiritual leader who has gone before us? Could it be that the quickest way to the Divine Center is to recognize and renounce our tendency to live on the fringe of God's purpose for our lives? Could it be that the only way for the spiritual fissures in our lives to close is by allowing the retaining walls we have built up around our souls to cave in? Could it be that the best antidote for "frantic fidelity" is a "holy meltdown"?Thomas Kelly's A Testament of Devotion is a nugget of solid gold, carefully refined in the furnace of God's purifying love. As such, it issues a call for each of us to surrender our own lives to this same holy fire, with deep confidence that the One who melts and molds us is utterly trustworthy and has our best interest in mind. In the process, we are relieved from the burden of "frantic fidelity" and we can find rest for our weary souls as we recognize that it is God's work, not ours, that will stand the test of time:"Thus we have begun to live in guidance. And [we] find He never guides us into an intolerable scramble of panting feverishness ... for after all God is at work in the world. It is not we alone who are at work in the world, frantically finishing a work to be offered to God ... we need not get frantic. He is at the helm. And when our little day is done we lie down quietly in peace, for all is well" (100).

As a busy professional woman, balancing family and a demanding job, this book has been crucial to my peace of mind. I re-read it every year. It is brilliantly enlightening about the need to make centered decisions about what we take on and to what we should say "no." It ranks with Heschel's "Quest for God" and Bonhoeffer's "Cost and Joy of Discipleship" in shaping my life. Since discovering it about 30 years ago, I have given this book to many friends. Every pastor should own a copy. I considre it one of the blessings of my life, to have made the acquaintance of Thomas Kelly in this deeply devotional book. The last chapter is the best for me.“This amazing simplification of life comes when we “center down… Some of you know this holy, recreating Center of eternal peace and joy and live in it day and night. Some of you may see it over the margin and wistfully long to slip into that amazing Center where the soul is at home with God. Be very faithful to that wistful longing. It is the Eternal Goodness calling you to return Home... It is the life beyond fevered strain. We are called beyond strain to peace and power and joy and love and thorough abandonment of self. We are called to put our hands trustingly in (God's) hand and walk the holy way, in no anxiety assuredly resting in (God).”“Deep within us all there is an amazing sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-worn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within that illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories on upon the face of (humanity.) "“ the Holy Now is not something which we, by our activity, by our dynamic energy, overtake or come upon. It is a now which is itself dynamic, which lays hold actively on us, which breaks in actively upon us and re-energizes us from within a new center. …The Eternal is urgently, actively breaking into time, working through those who are willing to be laid hold upon, to surrender self-confidence and self- centered effort, that is self-originated effort, and let the Eternal be the dynamic guide in recreating, through us, our time-world.”“Life becomes simplified when dominated by a few concerns. Too many of us have too many irons in the fire.”“Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power.It is simple, It is serene. It is amazing. It is triumphant. It is radiant…We need not get frantic. (God) is at the helm.And when our little day is done, we lie down quietly in peace, for all is well.”Who doesn't need reassurance and advice like that?

Quaker classic on the Light Within.

Inspiring book.

This is a very good book.

Excellent and challenging study book in what is noŵ a heavy and demanding style of English writing. Not for the casual reader.

Wonderful book especially if one is mystically inclined. This was a duplicate copy.

I was scheduled to receive the book between Dec 2-10, and I received it on the 16th.