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FAITH AND FEELING?
by Spurgeon
We are saved by faith and not by feeling; yet there is
a relation between 'holy faith' and 'hallowed feeling'
like that between the root and the flower--
'Faith' is as permanent as the root which is ever embedded in the
soil. 'Feeling' is casual and has its seasons -- the bulb does not
always shoot up the green stem, far less is it always crowned
with its many flowers.
'Faith' is the tree, the essential tree. Our 'feelings' are like the
appearance of that tree during the 'different seasons' of the year--
Sometimes our soul is full of bloom and blossom, and the bees
hum pleasantly and gather honey within our hearts. It is then that
our feelings bear witness to the life of our faith, just as the
buds of SPRING bear witness to the life of the tree. Anon, our
feelings gather still greater vigor, and after we come to the
SUMMER of our delights. Again perhaps, we begin to wither
into the sear and yellow leaf of AUTUMN. Nay, sometimes the
WINTER of our despondency and despair will strip away every
leaf from the tree, and our poor faith stands like a blasted
stem without a sign of verdure.
And yet, so long as the 'tree of faith' is there, we are saved.
Whether faith blossom or not, whether it bring forth joyous fruit
in our experience or not, so long as it be there in all its
permanence, we are saved.
Yet should we have the gravest reason to distrust the
'life of our faith' if it did not sometimes blossom with
joy and often bring forth fruit unto holiness.
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