William Law (1686-1761)

William Law was a spiritual giant. Among his great gifts to the church, Christian Perfection, the Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration; Spirit of Prayer, the Way to Divine Knowledge; Spirit of Love and best-known of all, A Serious Call To a Devout and Holy Life. His books called for the church to grow in piety and seriousness, as it walked with Christ. I'm always challenged by his intensity. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.

This, and this alone, is Christianity, a universal holiness in every part of life, a heavenly wisdom in all our actions, not conforming to the spirit and temper of the world but turning all worldly enjoyments into means of piety and devotion to God.

We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way and pray another.

Where did we come up with this concept of "spare time," anyway? Is there any time for which we aren't accountable to God? Is there any time during which God doesn't care what you are doing? No Christian has ever had spare time. You may have spare time from labor or necessity, you may stop working and refresh yourself, but no Christian ever had time off from living like a Christian.