Faith is a Duty
In one of his Morning Exercises, William Jay pauses over John’s simple but searching line: “And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ…” (1 John 3:23). Jay reflects on the inseparable bond between privilege and duty in the Christian life:
“As the love of God renders our duty our privilege, so the authority of God renders our privilege our duty. And is not this an advantage? For thus we are not left to the calls of self-love and our own interest, but are bound to pursue our welfare by the command of God, and the peril arising from a neglect of it.”
I read that line while sitting in a house that feels half empty, too quiet, lonely in a lot of moments and rather frantic in others. My wife is away for the long haul of post-transplant with our youngest daughter. The hospital has become their world for now. I am home with our other three girls, trying to keep routines intact, homeschooling in between phone calls, appointments, and toddler-counseling. I’m studying for sermons and lessons and leading worship. I’m managing piles of little shoes, mountains of laundry (though I have some help with those), and the emotional weight that my daughters feel but cannot articulate.
It’s easy to drift in seasons like this.
Drift into a kind of survival autopilot where the only things that get done are the things that demand immediate attention. The squeaky wheels, the urgent tasks, the non-negotiable deadlines. You wake up, scramble, push through, collapse, and repeat. And if there is a moment of quiet, you numb yourself rather than nourish yourself.
In times like these, the soul can quietly shrink.
But then Jay’s sentence struck me: God has commanded us to pursue our own welfare. Not the shallow welfare of ease or comfort, but the true welfare of trusting His Son.
Some seasons are more prone to be shaped by fear, exhaustion, and relentless responsibility. In those the duty of faith becomes a mercy. Because the truth is, left to myself, I will be guided by the calls of self-love and the pull of mere pragmatism. I will choose the path of least resistance. I will turn on the tv rather than pray. I will grind through tasks but never lift my eyes to heaven. I will wait for the feeling of trust rather than the exercise of trust.
But God does not leave us to that. He commands us to believe.
And so, when everything feels overwhelming, when the house feels too quiet, when I’m piecing together school assignments while wondering how our baby is doing two hours away, I’m learning that God has not merely invited me to trust Him. He has required it.
Faith is a duty the way breathing is a duty. To refuse to breathe is to perish. To refuse to trust is to wither.
As Jay said, God’s love makes trusting Him a privilege, but His authority makes trusting Him a responsibility. It’s the same thing I tell my kids: “I love you, and you must trust me.” That combination saves us from ourselves. Because it means that trust is not optional. It is not something we do when we feel spiritually awake, emotionally stable, or well-rested. It is something we do precisely when we feel weak, weary, and overwhelmed.
When the Lord commands us to believe in His Son, He is not placing a heavy stone in our pack. He is filling our lungs with oxygen.
And so, in these days when my life feels like a patchwork of caregiving, pastoring, hospital updates, tantrums (from both the kids and myself), and lesson plans, I’m discovering that faith must be practiced like a duty. If I wait for the perfect emotional environment to trust Christ, I will not trust Him. If I wait for my soul to feel strong, it will never be strengthened.
Duty forces me to take my medicine.
Duty forces me to eat the food God sets before me.
Duty forces me to look up when everything in me wants to look down.
God’s command to believe rescues us from a life governed by mood and circumstance. It binds us to what we most need. It holds us fast when our emotions fluctuate wildly.
By God’s grace, I am learning again that His commandment is not burdensome. It is mercy. It is life. It is the strong hand of a Father who loves me.
Tips for putting into practice:
Pray often and briefly. Devoted prayer time each day is important, but don’t forget to pray throughout the day. My girls and I give attention to prayer at devotions, before each meal, and at bedtime.
Hold a promise tightly. Spend time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer every morning, and grab a promise or truth to hold for meditation throughout the day.
Keep moving. Don’t get caught in idleness or laziness. Let the devil always find you busy, as Jerome said.
Let others help you. I’ve had to learn this one especially. I need help. The Lord gives the practical help through His people. We are the hands and feet of Jesus to one another.