The Piercing Question

Do you love Me? —John 21:17

Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35 ; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).

Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful . . . , piercing even to the division of soul and spirit . . .”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.

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毫不放鬆的問話

你愛我麼？ （約二十一17）

彼得這時不再宣告什麼了（參太二十六33-35）。人天然的性情總喜歡揚聲宣告；但當耶穌基督的問話一針見血時，才顯露那人愛的品質。彼得對耶穌的愛，是人本性中愛一個好人的那種愛。那是屬於性情裡的愛，這也許會深入人的個性裡，但並不觸及人的內裡。真愛是從不宣告什麼。耶穌說：[凡在人面前認我的。 ]承認他的愛不單憑口裡所說的話，也憑所行的一切。

除非主的話刺破我們的假面具，否則神的話根本進不到我們裡面。神的話刺傷比罪的刺傷更厲害因為罪使感覺遲鈍。但主的話卻加強我們的感覺，以致他的刺傷，比任何我們所能意想到的刺傷更痛。這痛不單是一般性的，而是更深入的，對准人內心的。主的話刺透我們，將靈與魂分開，再無虛假可以存留。對主的問話，我們不能用感情來敷衍。主直接對你說話時，你不能只說好話，否則那痛就太厲害了。刺痛使任何事物都不再算一回事了。主的話在他兒女身上的刺痛，是不會有錯的；刺痛的地方，正是啟示的重要開端。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你在今早驅散一切雲霧，願晴朗、猛烈和滿有生氣的陽光普照大地。