The Assigning of the Call

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church . . . —Colossians 1:24

We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant, flashing moment we see His purpose, and we say, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. Yet God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, “If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!” But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed—you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.

I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.

---

呼召的使命

現在我為你們受苦，倒覺快樂，並且為基督的身體，就是為教會，要在我肉身上補滿基督患難的缺欠。 （西一24）

我們在自以為是的分別為聖上，自己製造出呼召來；但當我們與神的關係和諧無間，他就把一切挪開，把我們接駁到我們從未夢想過的東西。這過程痛苦得可怖，但就在金光閃耀得一瞬，卻看出神得心意。就說：[我在這裡，請差遣我。 ]

這呼召與個人成聖無關，乃是要我們成為破碎得餅，澆奠的酒。若拒絕神的擠壓，酒永遠不會成酒。但願神用自己的指頭，用特別的方法來是我成劈開的餅澆奠的酒就好了！但他往往用我們不喜歡的人，或用我們曾說死也不依順的環境來做壓器，於是，我們就抗拒了。我們千萬不可自己挑選殉道的場景。若要成酒，就必須被壓榨；葡萄是不能喝的，必須被擠壓才能成酒。我不知道神用什麼樣的指頭來擠壓，而你就像彈子一般滾避開去。若神在你尚未成熟時壓榨你，那酒就會苦澀得可怕。分別為聖的意思，就是天然生命的每一部分，被神破碎。在事奉中，有神自己的臨在。我們若要在他手中成為劈開的餅，就要先與他配合。要與神有正確的關係，讓他可以隨意而行。這樣你會發現，他要用你做出對其他兒女有益的餅和酒來。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天是我脫離慌張忙亂讓我保持平靜和單純屬你。願你使這個地方成為神的居所，以及人靈魂進入天堂的門檻。