The Life of Faith 485
The Life of the WillThe life of faith can be called the life of the will since faith is
impervious to how one feels but chooses through volition to obey
God’s mind. Though the Christian may not feel like obeying God,
even so he wills to obey Him. We find two opposite kinds of
Christians: one depends on emotion, the other relies on the renewed
will. A Christian who trusts in feeling can obey God solely while he
is deriving stimulus from his feeling, that is, excitable feeling. The
one however who depends on volition determines that he shall serve
God amid whatever circumstance or feeling. His will reflects his real
opinion whereas his feeling is only activated by outside stimulus.
From God’s viewpoint not much value accrues in doing His will out
of a pleasurable sensation: to do so is merely to be persuaded by the
joy of God and not by a wholehearted aspiration to do His will.
Except he neither feels a bit of joy nor is stimulated by some
wonderful feeling and yet decides to do God’s will can the
Christian’s obedience be counted truly valuable, because it flows
from his honest heart and expresses his respect for God and disregard
of self. The distinction between the spiritual and the soulish Christian
lies precisely there: the soulish primarily considers himself and
therefore only obeys God when he feels his desire is satisfied; the
spiritual has a will fully cooperating with God and hence accepts His
arrangement without wavering even though he has no outside help or
stimulus.
Of what have we to boast if we obey God merely while we
experience joy in our body? Or how can we brag if we enjoy the
cheer of the Lord while suffering? Precious is it in God’s sight if we
determine to obey His mind and suffer for Him even when the
comfort, love, help, presence and joy of the Lord are absent.
A great number of believers are unconscious of the fact that to
walk by the spirit is to walk by the will which is joined to God. (A
will which is not so joined is untrustworthy and inconsistent; it