They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’ —John 1:38-39
Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They . . . remained with Him that day . . . .” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
“You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.
Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “. . . We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life— let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.
到主那裡去
拉比，在那裡住？ ……你們來看……來跟從我。 （約一38-39）
[這一天便與他同住。 ]我們中間不少往往就是這樣，一覺之後，清醒過來，又去面對現實。一己的利益來到，就不再與主同住了。其實，任何的一種生活情況都不足以阻礙我們，使我們不與主同住（即不住在主裡）。
[你是西門，你要稱為磯法。 ]神在我們生命中，只有在驕傲、自滿、自利被抹除的地方，寫下新的名字。有些人的新名是斑點式的，像屬靈的痳疹一般。在某些地方，我們看來很不錯。當屬靈情緒高昂，我們會認為自己是高等聖徒；不過，在情緒低落的時候，請別看我們了。作門徒的，是全身都寫滿了新名；自私自利、驕傲自滿等，全都被抹掉了。
驕傲即是神化自我。對今人來說，這已不是法利賽人的模式，乃是稅吏的模式了。 [啊，我不是聖徒哩]，這個說法在人的傲氣中，是可以接受的；可是卻無形中是對神的褻瀆。其實際上的意思是說：你抗拒神，不要他使你成為聖徒。 [我太軟弱，無可救要，救恩對我也無濟於事。 ]在人面前的謙遜，可能無形中褻瀆了神。你為什麼不是聖徒？是你不要作聖徒，還是你不信神能使你成為聖徒？你說：[神若救我，把我直接帶上天堂就好了。 ]其實這正是他要做的！ [我們來就他，與他同住吧。 ]不要作繭自縛，要讓耶穌成為你的一切；這樣，他就必帶住你一同歸家，直到永永遠遠。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我的思想有多少部分，被近來環繞身邊的興趣所佔據，以致這些身旁的東西都成了中心。願你自己成為我生命中固定的中心，和環繞我身邊的一切。
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