Faith and The Will

This has been on my mind for some time, and I feel like I need to write it down. So I am.

What is the will?  I've been grappling with this question for a while, and I've decided that I'll probably never now.  Suffice to say, I have a will.  So, there really is no question of what it is or how it changes or influences the things around me.  The will just IS.

I think the will is the essence of a being.  I think the will is what makes that being identifiable and unique. I have no idea what it means for a being to have an essence.  It's an intangible sort of idea that escapes like fog through fingers whenever I try to grasp it.  But, I think there is something to it.

So, I wondered how this all related to God.  I wrote a note a while ago about how Jesus could just flex things into happening with faith acting as a sort of spiritual nerve ending.  My ideas have changed a little bit since then. I think faith has a more tangible sort of manifestation.  I think faith is really more about action.

The church is the body of Christ.  I like to think literally.  And, I don't think I'm wrong in a literal interpretation of that idea. Jesus ascended to heaven.  I have no idea how He flew.  But, I believe He did.  Now, we, His followers, are the conduit through which He physically interacts with people.  Our physical actions, motivated by His love, are His actions through us.  This idea is staggering and dangerous.  If we are HIs representatives, then the world can only know Christ through our actions...

Our service defines the God in whose name we serve to those who we are serving.  If we greet others in warmth and meekness, Jesus is seen as a lover.  However, if we greet others with condemnation and anger, Jesus is seen as a condemning judge.  I've been floored by this a little lately, and I think I'm finally starting to understand the fear of God.  I never really got it before.  But, I've just had this revelation of responsibility.  It's big.  It must be a great God who can trust His followers to accurately portray Him.

That's my microscopic, localized understanding of the body of Christ.  The macroscopic, global understanding is where faith really comes into play.  Before I explain it, I'd like for you to try something.  It's simple, incredibly doable, and familiar to you.  If you will, move your thumb up and down.  Keep doing that.  Now, think about exactly how you're doing it.  What is it that you do to move your thumb?  I have to admit that I've thought for a long time and I'm stumped.  All I know is this: my thumb moves when it is my will for it to move.  For, my thumb is always within my realm of influence.

It's like seeing an open kitchen cabinet from across the room.  You see it, want it closed, then close it.  First you move across the room so that it is within your arm-span, your realm of influence.  Then, you will that your arm would move that the cabinet would shut.  And, it shuts.

So, back to the thumb analogy: what if your thumb had nerve damage?  Only the healthy part would be within your realm of influence.  If there's nerve damage, even if you will your thumb to move a specific way, it will only move in the way that it is able.  So, if we are the body of Christ, if we are the physical manifestation of His will, then each of us is sort of like a nerve.  If we are faithful, then we'll do what is needed without knowing why it is needed.  We'll sense His will in us, then act our part.  But, if we don't...if we say no in that moment the Spirit is leading us, then our part of the body is made to contort awkwardly and is unable to function fully.

An unhealthy church is like a sickly contorted hand.  It attempts to bring comfort but ends up scratching instead of caressing.  Its extension brings horror and fear rather than comfort and security.  [Read "Stumbling Toward Faith" by Renee Altson for an incredibly frightening illustration of this.]

If the world is to change, we must be the agents of change.  That means acting when the Spirit leads us.  That means walking in tune with the Spirit so that we are sensitive to its direction.  That means saying "yes" to Jesus every day.  That means saying yes even when it's easy to say no, even when saying yes makes us uncomfortable, even when a situation seems foreign and bigger than our yes.

My God is the God of love.  Love is His essence.  All love seems grand because it is an image of Him, Eyeh Asher Eyeh.  Love is voluntary.  It can not be forced because it is defined by and therefore totally relies on the will.  A person cannot love because.  Love is not because.  Love is.  So, there's a choice required.  I don't really understand the compatibility of choice and the will, but I recognize the constant presence of a choice.  God, wanting to reveal His essence, continuously gives us a choice: yes or no.  I'd just like to urge my readers to say yes.  It's so much better to say yes.

It occurs to me that Mary could've said no.  There must have been a bunch of other virgins in the area who would be happy to give birth to the One Righteous.  But, after Mary found favor with the Lord, she was given the chance to be used.  She said yes.  And, she was blessed for it.  The world was blessed for it.  I'm convinced that there's no way Mary could've grasped just how big a deal her saying yes was.  She must've known the implications of becoming pregnant.  It was the most uncomfortable and adverse of situations. But, she said yes...

We are the generation that can bring about a change in the way the world sees the church.  We can be a healthy hand outstretched and welcoming.  But, we won't be if everyone doesn't do their part by saying yes to the Spirit.  Ephesians 4:16 says that the body of Christ grows and builds itself up as every part does its work.  So, if the church isn't growing, it's our fault collectively.  For, the highest cannot stand without the lowest.

What if we all said yes to the leading of the Spirit?  I've got to say, the idea is exciting.  But, it won't happen if we don't all do our work.