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KevinGlenn.net
mere christianity

The journey of faith is both a journey of hard moral effort, and of giving up our efforts
to God Himself. It is a relationship wholly dependent on the goodness of God’ working in
and through us, and of our openness as a vessel for such work to take place by keeping
ourselves open through the efforts of surrender and obedience. Lewis emphasizes that
trust in Christ is not to stop our efforts. Indeed to trust Him is to do what he says in faith
that His efforts will produce in our lives what He promised.
This sense of faith seems to me to the work of resting in Christ. It is a contrast, even an
anomaly, but it is the reality of living faith. To work hard is to be reminded that we can’t
do it alone; to give up to God is to be reminded that His will for our life will be
accomplished by His power and grace.
The relationship between faith and effort is a sibilant one. One doesn’t function apart
from the other. Works flow out of faith, but works must be present for faith to be
realized. Remember, to love God and others are acts of will that lead in faith to genuine
feelings of love.
As I have learned more about God, the church, and theology, it seems the issues that
divide us are bound up in the anomaly of faith and action. While I still have leanings in
my theology, I am certainly more cautious of the views that place all their eggs in one
basket. I think Lewis is right to assume that there is a resolution. I wish we could
become more comfortable with his observation that the solution is beyond the ability of
language to explain. Living in the mystery may require just the kind of faith God is
looking for anyway.