I appreciated that comment Earl.
Let us say: that the faculty of faith, given and brought to life by God (who sends the Light, Ps.119:130, "The entrance of thy words giveth light"), engages the will of a man.
Our physical eyes "see" in a very natural, passive, and unforced way simply because of what they are (assuming they work properly), the life within us, and the light that shines. But such vision barely conceived can be distinguished (for our purposes) from "sight," which we might define here as the faculty of seeing or vision being used to lay hold of a particular object that captures attention. There is a "registration" in the mind by the objects seen, a consciousness about them.
It's helpful to think of the fact that our eyes (and brain) take-in literally everything the light bounces off of in our room. But how much of that do we see? Consider how often we "miss" or "forget" the object right in front of us. Did we not-see it? Was it always in our "blind-spot"? Our eyes drank the draught of information, but our "filters" shunted it aside as insignificant. Then, when we wanted the object, we could not remember ever seeing it (when surely we had).
This is why we would say that true sight takes the functional faculty of vision, and engages the will at some level to notice it, to register and index it; and when we wish (the will once again) to attend it again, we turn our head to where we expect it to be (thanks to the registry). So it is with faith. The point of the gift of saving faith is that we are enabled to apprehend Christ offered to us for our salvation. Like the infant who knows nothing of this world of light into which he is birthed--but who quickly learns to identify his mother's face, and his source of nourishment--so the new-born believer recognizes his Savior, and all about him that is lovely and life-giving. The inherently "passive" nature of the gift and its functionality is (by virtue of what it is, and the soul to which it is attached) put to USE by the one who has it. It is engaged.
It is as natural to "choose" engagement to the sight of Christ, as it is for the baby to "choose" his engagement to the sight of his mother's face, studying it as he nurses at the breast. It is the way it was meant to be. The baby didn't "choose" his mother, or where to be placed so he could study her--he was chosen! His life was imparted to him, and his eyes, and the light. As he grows, he starts to "choose" other objects to engage with. But naturally he returns most often to his mother's face. He "chooses" that. He chooses what was chosen for him.
See, sight, vision, attention, consciousness, registry, engagement, study, the faculty alongside the use of that faculty--so many nuances of a basic concept. How about adding "focus" to the mix? Think about how the will or choice must in the nature of the case be utilized for this function. The newborn cannot focus on anything. He's never used those muscles in his eyes. His eyes are naturally "focused" at about 12 inches, the distance to a mother's face from her nursing breast (where there's a big fuzzy bullseye). From that starting point, he begins to practice the art of focus, shifting his eyes about, and returning them to his resting focal length on his mother's face.
"Focus" is perfectly transferable to the realm of faith, just as much as the other ideas. The world of our faith-in-Christ has all the marvels of complexity and more than this world of our senses. Paul writing to the Corinthians, and the writer to Hebrews, both encourage the hearers to get beyond the "baby-stage" of their engagement with the truth of our religion. Think of all there is to "see" that pertains to God! And always, there is returning to rest in Christ at the center of everything.
But in speaking of childishness, those two writers show they already understand that their catechumens are on a growth curve. We do not come into the knowledge of the truth like an Adam-fully-formed (and surely he had some learning to do too). We cannot expect the enlightenment we have received to have imparted suddenly, instantly, a fully formed theological mind, all nice and grown-up and ready to teach others. That's arrogant. We must become like little children, Mk.9:33-37.
Let us, as children, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 2Pet.3:18. 2Ths.1:3, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth." Our faith grows by exercising our knowledge, assent, and trust.
Like the marvelous eye of the body, faith too can be studied and analyzed so that we gain an appreciation for how it functions. There is a basic "passiveness" about it, as well as the act of engaging it, and using it. God saw fit to use this most "passive" of behaviors, viz. believing, to deny the place or power of "working" (actively) as to the means of making us acceptable to himself. And we are more than simply vacuums for data, storerooms for articles of faith that accumulate in our souls, absent the activity of the will. We are renewed humans, brought back into fellowship with God, restored in the image of God--in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.
