Abraham’s Life of Faith

He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26.

Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.

The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day—in and day—out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith—a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God. . .” (Romans 4:3).

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亞伯拉罕信心之道

出去的時候，還不知往那裡去。 （來十一8）

在舊約時代，個人與神的關係，是在[分離]上顯出來。這可從亞伯拉罕離開本地本族本家的生平中看出來。在今日，這[分離]卻側重在心思道德方面的意義。我們所親愛的人若與神沒有個人關係，我們對事物的看法就與他們不同了。耶穌基督也強調這一點（路十四26）。

信心是從來不知道要往哪裡去，卻知道且深愛領路的那一位。我們的生活是信心的生活，不是理智理性的生活，因為知道誰叫我們[去]。信心的根源是出於對神的認識。但有一個最大的陷阱，是我們以為神一定領我們成功順利。

信心生活的最終階段，是性格的完成。人個性的改變，有不少是短暫的。我們禱告時，感到神的祝福包圍著我們，那時確有了改變。過後回到日常生活中，又依然故我，而那榮光也就消失了。信心的生活不是展翅上騰的生活，乃是腳踏實地的行走而不頹廢。這不是成聖的問題；是比成聖更進一步，是經過考驗而證實及格的。亞伯拉罕不是成聖的模式，乃是信心生活的模範。他的信心是經過誓言，是建立在真神上。 [亞伯拉罕信神]

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願今天因著你的同在和祝福，而充滿榮耀。願我們看見你使你所站的地方成為榮耀之處。