A Testament of Devotion

If you are interested in Quaker mysticism, please read this book, the thoughts of a 20th century Quaker mystic and teacher. Thomas Kelly lived briefly - reading this work brings the reader close to Kelly's experiential relationships with the Divine. There was not enough writing left behind - this is a treasure. A book for meditation and reading, Kelly's words have a way of bringing the Light to the dedicated reader. I really love this book and don't know how to express that without sounding trivial. It can take your breath away, bring you to joyful tears and encourage your seeking. Blessings.

As I read this book, I thought, "This man had a lifetime of learning to live, think, breath and walk in the presence of God." However, at the end of the book, in the biographical section, I learned that Kelly really only began to live the life he describes the last few years of his life. It was not that it took him that long to achieve such spiritual levels, but rather, he apparently was busy with life and never tried.I found this encouraging--that a life filled with God's presence does not have to take decades to find. Rather, it can begin to be experienced little by little day to day and in a relatively brief time, moment by moment as Kelly describes.This is a great book. Kelly is not pretentious in any way. He plainly and simply gives clues of how to live a Christ-filled life in today's busy society.

Call it a "classic" if you like, but to me, this book is a thing of beauty. There are few books that compare to it.I once gave it as a graduation gift to a seminary student. She later commented that there were lots of things she agreed with. What?! There is no agrument or proposition here! You let it take you, lead you places. You immerse, wrap yourself in its beauty.The 1941 edition with an intro/bio by Douglas Steere (also reprinted in 70s or 80s) is MUCH MUCH preferred to the Richard Foster edition. He not only adds his own intro, but does editing of the original. Blasphemy. Skip his "version" and find an original.

Reading this book was a wonderful experience and one I intend to repeat many times. It contains many beautiful descriptions of the inner life of one who listens to God's call and waits in silence for the Divine Presence. It's an invaluable companion in the life of anyone who is searching and seeking for that Presence and/or has already discovered that Presence.

I've read a lot of Christian books by such authors as Augustine, Aquinas, Brother Lawrence, Pascal, Caussade, Teresa of Avila, Dostoevsky, Lewis, Tozer, Sproul, Geisler, Willard, Foster, and many more... but I'm drawn back to this little book above them all. I've come to appreciate the paradox of "nothing matters; everything matters." As Kelly said, God "gives us the royal blindness of faith, and the seeing eye of the sensitized soul, and the grace of unflinching obedience. Then we see that nothing matters, and that everything matters, and that this my task matters for me and for my fellow men and for Eternity. And if we be utterly humble we may be given the strength to be obedient even unto death, yea the death of the Cross." My goal is to write a devotional, theological book to compare to it. I am not yet up to the task. I have many notes from my many readings, but first I must make God's presence and will the deepest realities in my life as they obviously were in Kelly's. I have the head knowledge, but lack the deepest heart's passion and abandonment to divine breathings that are required to pen a masterpiece. I've learned from Kelly that it is more important that I live as God's masterpiece than pen one myself. As Kelly said, "practice comes first in religion, not theory or dogma."One correction to my earlier review: Kelly discussed the paradox of "nothing matters; everything matters" with a Hindu monk, not a Buddhist one.In closing, I'm somewhat surprised to find that Kelly's book is not as popular as it deserves to be. But, then again, I'm not. - Brad Clark