Soul Survivor

[Reg]

I'm reading a book "Soul Survivor" by Philip Yancey. ‘
‘How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive the Church'.
I just read this part and it is pregnant with meaning for me.

"Religious systems, said Tolstoy, tend to promote external rules:................

The test of observance of Christ's teachings is our consciousness of our failure to attain an ideal perfection. The degree to which we draw near this perfection cannot be seen; all we can see is the extent of our deviation."

Here's the part I really like: "A man who professes an external law is like someone standing in the light of a lantern fixed to a post. It is a light all round him, but there is nowhere further for him to walk. A man who professes the teaching of Christ is like a man carrying a lantern before him on a long , or not so long, pole: the light is in front of him, always lighting up fresh ground and always encouraging him to walk further."