April 6

“Fenelon says that ‘pure religion resides in the will alone.’  By this he means that as the will is the governing power in the man’s nature, if the will is set right, all the rest of the nature must come into harmony.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 4/6

Hannah says the will is the deciding power, “the king to which all that is in the man must yield obedience.”  I understand why I’ve struggled so to be obedient to God’s law of love.  My flesh cannot obey, only the Spirit of Christ in me can obey God’s law.  Even if I am able to discipline myself to the point of overcoming my flesh, the motive for my obedience will still be to glorify my flesh.  I will be able to say, “Look what I’ve done!”  God tells us in Micah 6:6-8 that He does not desire our sacrifices, but instead desires that we do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with Him.  Flesh cannot humble itself.  It is humbled by something.  Flesh can love kindness but only to the point it receives kindness.  And as far as doing justice....flesh and doing justice are incompatible.  Flesh can mete out justice and receive justice, but it cannot do justice.  The Christian life has to be lived by Christ Himself and He can only do that in those who no longer answer to the flesh.  Our flesh--our will--must submit itself to Christ.  It is from there our obedience will spring.

“Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure.  Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book.”” Hebrews 10:5-7