eight: withdrawn

The modern way with God is to set Him at a distance, if not to deny Him altogether; and the irony is that modern Christians, preoccupied with maintaining religious practices in an irreligious world, have themselves allowed God to become remote. Clear-sighted persons, seeing this, are tempted to withdraw from the churches in something like disgust to pursue a quest for God on their own. Nor can one wholly blame them, for churchmen who look at God, so to speak, through the wrong end of the telescope, so reducing Him to pigmy proprortions, cannot hope to end up as more than pigmy Christians.

J.I. Packer again (in his book, Knowing God)

seven: abandon

Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short - then why should I be sad
To soar to endless day?

Richard Baxter (quoted in J.I. Packer's book, Knowing God)