Obeying the sense of life is a very important and practical matter in the Christian life. Everyone who is learning to follow the Lord in life must pay attention to this matter.
If we want to obey the sense of life, we must know six things, which we all possess once we are saved.
1. “He who has the Son has the life”; “The life was the light of men” (1 John 5:12; John 1:4).
When we receive the Son of God as our Savior, we have the Son of God, and we also have the life because this life is in the Son of God. This life is the light of men, so when we have life, we have the light of life that enlightens us from within. With this life we do not need to seek outward light because we have a marvelous light within us, which is the Lord as the glorious life.
2. “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me...shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
The Lord said that those who follow Him would have the light of life, but what is the light of life? How can we experience the light of life? Light enlightens and enables us to see; without light we are in darkness and cannot see. The light of life is the Lord’s life in us as light. Previously we did not have the Lord’s life, so our inner being was dark. Now we have the Lord’s life as our light, so our inner being is bright, and we can see what is right and what is wrong, what pleases God and what is against His will. We have an inner seeing, which is actually an inner sense, because the Lord’s life is shining in us.
For example, when we were offended in the past, we would become so angry that we could not be placated unless we lost our temper. Since we did not have the Lord’s life and our inner being was dark, we even felt happy about losing our temper. With the light of life now shining in us, we do not feel happy when we lose our temper; instead, we feel uncomfortable. We even feel as if we have lost the Lord, and it is difficult to pray. Some sisters used to throw tantrums in their homes. The more tantrums they threw, the better they felt. This proves that they were in darkness. When they throw a tantrum now, they immediately sense that things are not right. This sense is not because of an outward human rule or exhortation. It also is not related to an outward biblical teaching; rather, it is from the inward light of life. When the light of life is shining in us, we can inwardly sense what God condemns and what He justifies. Therefore, the light of life is the Lord’s life in us as our light; it makes our inner being bright so that we can see.
1. “I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them” (Heb. 8:10; see also 10:16).
In the Old Testament the law of God was written on tablets of stone outside of man. But in the New Testament God imparts His laws into us and writes them on our hearts. How can God’s law be imparted into us and written on our hearts? We can illustrate this by considering a dead tree that we command to sprout new branches, grow green leaves, bear red blossoms, and produce beautiful fruit. These commands are outside of the tree. They are worthless because a dead tree no longer has the power of life to carry out the requirements of our commandments. If we cannot give it life inwardly, a dead tree cannot respond to any commandment. But if God comes and enlivens the tree by giving it life, it will gradually sprout new branches, grow green leaves, bear red blossoms, and produce beautiful fruit. The life that God puts into a tree has a law for sprouting branches, growing leaves, bearing flowers, and producing fruit. When God puts life into something, He simultaneously includes everything related to this life. It can be said that God puts these laws into the tree and writes them on its heart.
On Mount Sinai God commanded man not to commit adultery, steal, or lie. These laws were outside of man. Now God has put His laws into us through His life, writing them on our hearts. His life includes His laws. When He puts His life into us, He also puts the laws of His life into us. When we have His life in us, we also have the laws of His life. Therefore, the laws that He writes in us are the law of life. The law of life within us spontaneously prevents us from committing adultery, stealing, lying, or doing things that are not pleasing to Him. God does not need to command us outwardly because the laws in His life cause us to know Him and His ordinances inwardly.