Franco-Prussian War and Romans 12:2 The Will (Part 4)

 In the war, the soldiers were the ones who really got it done, and the Germans were better prepared by their leadership. The Germans managed to stop the French invasion. They pushed it back, and then they invaded France. With clever and well informed maneuvering, the main French army was surrounded at a place called Sedan. The French Calvary willed themselves into a desperate charge to break out of the trap. It didn't work, they suffered heavy casualties, but, they regrouped, and charged again, same result, and again, and again. It never worked, but the courage, and the will of it got the Germans' admiration, even the German king commented on it. After the Calvary had thrown everything they had at the Germans, the main French army surrendered. The Germans turned their attention to Paris.

 The French in Paris were still not defeated, who cared that the army has been captured? They had the will to fight on. The Germans responded by simply surrounding Paris the way they had Sedan. The citizens did everything but surrender, they ate their zoo animals, they sent messages for help out via carrier pigeon, and hot air balloon. They deployed armies, which were defeated. However the Germans had a will to win. So they stuck with the siege, and they started systemically destroying the city with their incredible artillery. With the French starving, and being killed, and watching their city being completely flattened; their will to fight, finally broke and they signed a peace. 

 This version of the story was shorter, I didn't need to use many words to describe will like I had to to describe intellect. Nor, did I have to lean on imagination and try to paint a picture of the emotions that might have been felt. Will is really fairly simple. It is determination, stubbornness, and basically, a refusal to quit, or to start a task as the case may be.

 Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 

 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

  Will is the third part of the renewed mind that Paul talks about. (See part 1.) Is your will surrendered to God? Like Christ, He lay prostrate, praying, weeping, and sweating, for he knew what was to happen. His human will called for something else, anything else. Yet, he surrendered this strong will back to his Father, he gave his will back to the one who  created it, and he chose death. Death to himself, physically and to his will. Yet, with the will given to God, and being God, he had the will to rise again. Jesus wasn't the only one. Peter, he had a will, a will to sleep when his Christ needed a friend. He had a will to fight, to swing a sword, when his Christ had decided to die. Later in life, Peter, had a will to be crucified, upside down, for that same Christ. He had surrendered his will. Paul had the will to get up, after being stoned and left for dead. His will was given over to God, and a little thing like a broken skull with brains leaking out wasn't going to get in the way of the God driven mission and surrendered will operating inside him. To surrender a will doesn't mean we cease to exist or that our will, ceases to exist, it simply means, it isn't our will anymore, it's way better as God's will than our will had ever been. God made it, and he gets to use it now.