If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left —Genesis 13:9
As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you. God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.
Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best. In this passage, it would seem that the wisest thing in the world for Abram to do would be to choose. It was his right, and the people around him would consider him to be a fool for not choosing.
Many of us do not continue to grow spiritually because we prefer to choose on the basis of our rights, instead of relying on God to make the choice for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which has its eyes focused on God. And God says to us, as He did to Abram, “. . . walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).
自利的考驗
你向左、我就向右、你向右、我就向左。 （創十三9）
你一開始過信靠神的生活，就會有許多滿有吸引和有利的機會出現在你面前，而這些都是你理所應得的。可是你若憑信心生活，就會主動放棄這些權益，讓神替你選擇。神有時讓你置身於試驗之中，若你不是憑信而活，圖謀切身的福利並不算錯。但你既然信靠神，就當快快樂樂地放下自己的權利，讓神替你去選擇。這個操練，是藉著對神話語的順服，使人天然的本質改造成屬靈的樣式。
人生若以權利來做指南，就會把屬靈的生命窒息了。在信靠神的生活中，最大的敵人並不是罪，而是不及標準的善良。善良永遠是至善的仇敵。亞伯拉罕易地而居，本是時間最明智之舉，因他有主權。但他不作選擇，以致周遭的人都視他為愚妄。我們許多人靈性不長進，是因為要自己選擇自以為好的，不信靠神去替我們選擇。我們要學習注目在神的標准上生活。 [你當在我面前。 ]
祈禱◆主啊，你的道路就像你那般完美；而我的道路就像我自己那樣不完全。感動我，讓我今天能有效地認同你的感覺和你的道路。
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