THE EFFECT OF CHRIST
If a man has not believed in Christ, nothing will happen to him. But once he believes, everything in Christ will come into him. Even if he does not feel different, in reality he is not the same. Some say that this is the effect of emotion. This is not the effect of emotion. It is the effect of Christ!
When I was in Kaifeng, I met the chief of a department in the government. Formerly, he was a mere consenter of Christianity. This time, he believed in Christ. He told me, "I used to think that there was not much difference between believing and agreeing. But a recent incident showed me that I am not the same person I used to be. I have been given charge of a clubhouse with a tennis court to which high government officials regularly attend. It is not infrequent for these people to leave sums of money in the club for the furnishing of tennis equipment. Recently, due to an order from the government, many officers were transferred. They left quite a bit of money and belongings in the club.
"Since they have left and no one knows where they are, the money and belongings naturally would become my possession. They will never come back for them, and no one will ever quibble about them. But somehow I felt that I could not claim those items. I had to take the trouble of looking up each one of their addresses and sending the items back to them. This kind of thing would never have happened to me before. I am definitely changed."
POWER IN FAITH
A man who has met Christ in faith is different. Only those who have touched Christ have His power manifested through them. All the filthy and binding sins are shaken off from us when we touch Christ. The minute we believe in Him, His resurrection life comes into us. By faith all these become real in us.
Not only are our lives changed by faith, but there is a very great power within this faith which motivates thousands to become missionaries and martyrs. This great power within is irrepressible and unlimited. It makes man willing to suffer for the Lord, ride through danger, and eventually be martyred. All these abilities come from faith. When we touch Christ, everything of Him will be transmitted into us.
(The Normal Christian Faith, Chapter 13, by Watchman Nee)
