Most of the 'mystics' were Roman Catholic and lived at least three hundred years ago. Among some of the classic authors are: Jeanne Guyon, Francois de Fenelon, Miguel de Molinos, and Brother Lawrence. These simple believers had a deep relationship with the Lord and wrote books about how to enter into such a relationship by fellowshipping with Christ in your spirit. They all believed the New Testament scriptures that Christ lives inside the spirit of the believer and that we must look there to see Him and fellowship with Him.

There was something lacking in the teachings of the Catholic mystics and that was the corporate dimension. Almost all of their books deal with the individual believer's relationship with the Lord and rarely even mention the fellowship of the saints. The inward life being experienced by the Church was not part of their writings probably because there was not much light on the eternal purpose of God and the nature of the Church. Therefore, these people worked with individuals and the corporate dimension was never really practiced.

George Fox and the founders of the movement that was later called "The Society of Friends" or Quakers, as they were nicknamed, brought back the corporate dimension to the inner life. Since then, there have been other Quaker 'mystics' such as Meister Eckhart, John Woolman, and Thomas Kelly. They also highlight another dimension of the inner walk and that is social responsibility.

Thomas Kelly wrote during the 1930's and his writings bring in these two dimensions to the inward life; the corporate body and social responsibility.

In "A Testament of Devotion", Kelly has a chapter called "The Eternal Now and Social Concern." Why don't we let Kelly's own words speak to us about this?

"There is an experience of the eternal breaking into time, which transforms all life into a miracle of faith and action. Unspeakable, profound, and full of glory as an inward experience, it is the root of concern for all creation, the true ground of social endeavor."

So in Kelly's writings we see all three "dimensions" of the inward life. Church life and concern for the world both stem forth from the inner fellowship of the Godhead from within the believer.

". . . that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me." John 17:21

You can obtain a copy of "A Testament of Devotion" from Amazon.com.