In William Zinsser’s book On Writing Well, he says that many writers suffer from “the tyranny of the final
product.” They are so concerned with selling their article or book, they
neglect learning the process of how to think, plan, and organize. A jumbled
manuscript, Zinsser believes, is produced when “the writer, his eye on the finish
line, never gave enough thought to how to run the race.”
Author and minister A. W. Tozer applies that principle to our
spiritual lives. In his book The Root of the Righteous, Tozer describes our tendency to be “concerned only with the fruit . .
. [and] ignore the root out of which the fruit sprang.”
The apostle Peter reminded first-century believers that Christlike
living and effective service result from a process. He urged them to grow in
eight areas of spiritual development: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control,
perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). If you
possess these qualities in increasing measure, Peter said, “you will be neither
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.8).
God calls us to a wonderful process of learning to know Him, with the
assurance that it will lead to productive service in His name and for His
honor.
The life is a process in which we learn complete dependence on God. (RBC)
