Living Unto the Lord: Voluntary and Involuntary Consecration

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord (Romans 14:8). The Christian idea of life is founded on conscious dedication: "To the Lord we live; to the Lord we die." What all other men must do unconsciously, the Christian does with full awareness.

Life comprises two spheres—the voluntary and the involuntary. Both must be consecrated to Adonai. First, our voluntary actions flow from deep currents of emotion beneath conscious sight. Just as ocean depths maintain fixed currents undisturbed by surface storms, so the soul's silent impulses shape outward behavior. The transgressor's crime culminates suddenly after hidden progress toward wickedness. The discoverer's breakthrough crowns long, unseen inquiry. We witness this in temptation's sudden strength after carelessness, or unexpected courage arising after prolonged fear.

If these secret tendencies control so much of our voluntary life, cannot that life be wholly consecrated through one great silent consecration—a strong impulse of our being? Consider men whose lives were silent prayers, who made others feel—even through passing words and trifling things—that Christ was being "formed within them" (morphoo, shaped inwardly). Such men forget the future in their work, yet never truly forget; present temptation, and their resistance manifests instantly.

Second, inevitable occurrences—where our wills prove powerless—demand consecration too. "Man proposes, but God disposes." The question arises: can we consecrate the unknown and inevitable? Yes, by surrendering both spheres to Yahweh's lordship.