Jesus . . . said to him, ’One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor . . . and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’ —Mark 10:21
The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute “go” of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus.
“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him . . .” (Mark 10:21). This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked in this way at you? This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates. Where you are soft and pliable with God is where the Lord has looked at you. If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on having your own way, and always certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are, then there are whole areas of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze.
“One thing you lack . . . .” From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing.
“. . . sell whatever you have . . . .” I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus. “. . . come. . . and follow Me.” And the road is the way He went.
[去]的無條件認同
你還缺少一件，……你還要來跟從我。 （可十21）
那年輕富有的官有股追求完美的熱情，他一看見主耶穌，就像想他。主呼召門徒的時候，從不把個人的聖潔放在首位；他以自我主權的絕對降服，與他完全認同為先決條件－－這是一種不夾雜別的關係的關係。路加福音十四章26節與救恩成聖完全無關，這經文是論到與主無條件的認同。很少人真認識降服主的絕對一[去]不回。
[耶穌看著他就愛他。 ]被耶穌的目光觸及意味著永遠脫離其他任何人或物。他曾否看著你？主的目光改變人、抓住人。你向神特別柔順的時候，一定是曾經被主目光看過。你若剛硬堅持己意，自以為義，把過錯歸咎別人，就表示你天性中仍有大部分未經主目光的注視而改變。
[你還缺少一件……]在主看來，唯一[善美]之事，就是與他聯合，沒有別的事物在中間阻隔。變賣你所有的……]我必須放下自己，知道只剩下一個意識。我必須徹底捨棄一切，不是為靈魂得救（只有一件事可以救人－－就是絕對仰望耶穌基督），乃是為跟從耶穌。 [來跟從我。 ]這道路就是他當日所行的道路。
祈禱◆主啊，我完完全全地來到你面前。我感到自己全然地需要你，我只等候你向我說話，此外我還能向你說什麼呢？正如沙漠的沙粒靜臥在陽光之下，讓我也在你面前坦然躺下。
September 28, 2014
September 27, 2014
The “Go” of Renunciation
. . . someone said to Him, ’Lord, I will follow You wherever You go’ —Luke 9:57
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Luke 9:58 These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “. . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59 This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Luke 9:61 The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but . . .,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
[去]的放棄
你無論往那裡去，我要跟從你。 （路九57）
主叫這人極度的洩氣，他用這個態度是因為他知道人心。我們會說：[多可惜，失去了得著那個人的機會！ ][竟用北風把他凍結，叫他沮喪而回。 ]不必為你的主抱歉。主的話往往頂撞刺傷，知道無可再頂撞刺傷。主耶穌對那些至終摧毀人事奉神的東西，絕不憐惜呵護。主的回答不是順口而出，乃是根據他對人內心的認識而說。若神的靈叫你想起主一句刺傷你的話，那麼一定有什麼東西，是主想戳傷至死地的。
第58節這幾句話，對那為悅己心而事奉主的人是當頭棒喝。棄絕的要求是嚴峻的，最後只剩下我的主，我，和一個孤絕的盼望。 [讓那一百倍去或留，你的目標必須是我與你的關係，而我沒有枕頭的地方。 ]
第59節這人不想令耶穌失望，也不想傷父親的心。我們會把對家人敏感的忠誠，替代了對主耶穌的忠誠，主耶穌竟排在末位。在效忠的矛盾裡，必須不惜代價順服主。
第61節有人說：[主，我要跟從你，但……]這人準備齊全了，卻從不出發。他還有一兩項保留。主耶穌肯定的呼召是沒有話別的餘地，因為話別往往出於不信者，而非信徒。神的呼召一來，就要出發，不可止步。
祈禱◆我們感謝你，因為在你裡面沒有永別。我們向你祈求，願你的冠冕和印記臨到我們每個人，直至我們能面對面地見你。
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Luke 9:58 These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “. . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59 This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Luke 9:61 The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but . . .,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
[去]的放棄
你無論往那裡去，我要跟從你。 （路九57）
主叫這人極度的洩氣，他用這個態度是因為他知道人心。我們會說：[多可惜，失去了得著那個人的機會！ ][竟用北風把他凍結，叫他沮喪而回。 ]不必為你的主抱歉。主的話往往頂撞刺傷，知道無可再頂撞刺傷。主耶穌對那些至終摧毀人事奉神的東西，絕不憐惜呵護。主的回答不是順口而出，乃是根據他對人內心的認識而說。若神的靈叫你想起主一句刺傷你的話，那麼一定有什麼東西，是主想戳傷至死地的。
第58節這幾句話，對那為悅己心而事奉主的人是當頭棒喝。棄絕的要求是嚴峻的，最後只剩下我的主，我，和一個孤絕的盼望。 [讓那一百倍去或留，你的目標必須是我與你的關係，而我沒有枕頭的地方。 ]
第59節這人不想令耶穌失望，也不想傷父親的心。我們會把對家人敏感的忠誠，替代了對主耶穌的忠誠，主耶穌竟排在末位。在效忠的矛盾裡，必須不惜代價順服主。
第61節有人說：[主，我要跟從你，但……]這人準備齊全了，卻從不出發。他還有一兩項保留。主耶穌肯定的呼召是沒有話別的餘地，因為話別往往出於不信者，而非信徒。神的呼召一來，就要出發，不可止步。
祈禱◆我們感謝你，因為在你裡面沒有永別。我們向你祈求，願你的冠冕和印記臨到我們每個人，直至我們能面對面地見你。
September 26, 2014
The “Go” of Reconciliation
If you . . . remember that your brother has something against you . . . —Matthew 5:23
This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you . . . .” It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,” but, “If you . . . remember . . . .” In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when He is instructing you down to the smallest detail.
“First be reconciled to your brother . . . .” Our Lord’s directive is simple— “First be reconciled . . . .” He says, in effect, “Go back the way you came— the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.” Jesus does not mention the other person— He says for you to go. It is not a matter of your rights. The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.
“. . . and then come and offer your gift.” The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.
無可指摘的態度
若想起弟兄向你懷怨……（太五23）
當你來到祭壇前，想起弟兄向你懷怨，若這不是病態地、敏感地翻出來的事，而是[想起]，那就是說神的靈在提醒你，那麼就要[先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物]。聖靈要徹底教導你的時候，千萬不要拒絕他在你裡面那種極度的敏感性。
[先去同弟兄和好……]主的吩咐是簡明的:[先和好。 ]從原路回去，依從祭壇所得的指示回去。對那向你懷怨的人，要有正確的態度，以致和解就像呼吸一樣自然。耶穌並沒有提到另外那個人，他只說－－你去。不必考慮自己的主權。聖徒的印記就是放棄自己的主權，順服主耶穌。
[然後來獻禮物。 ]過程很清楚。首先，是放下英雄氣概；然後被聖靈敏銳的查察，在服罪中停下來；接著向神的話順服，對那懷怨的，在心志與心性上，建立無可指摘的態度；最後是快樂的、單純的、無阻攔的向神獻上禮物。
祈禱◆[我們的主為大，最有能力；他的智慧無法測度。 ]所有能力和智慧肯定是屬於你，而我又肯定地渴望著你，並藉著你的恩典，叫你的道路能在我身上通行無阻。
This verse says, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you . . . .” It is not saying, “If you search and find something because of your unbalanced sensitivity,” but, “If you . . . remember . . . .” In other words, if something is brought to your conscious mind by the Spirit of God— “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). Never object to the intense sensitivity of the Spirit of God in you when He is instructing you down to the smallest detail.
“First be reconciled to your brother . . . .” Our Lord’s directive is simple— “First be reconciled . . . .” He says, in effect, “Go back the way you came— the way indicated to you by the conviction given to you at the altar; have an attitude in your mind and soul toward the person who has something against you that makes reconciliation as natural as breathing.” Jesus does not mention the other person— He says for you to go. It is not a matter of your rights. The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.
“. . . and then come and offer your gift.” The process of reconciliation is clearly marked. First we have the heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, then the sudden restraint by the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, and then we are stopped at the point of our conviction. This is followed by obedience to the Word of God, which builds an attitude or state of mind that places no blame on the one with whom you have been in the wrong. And finally there is the glad, simple, unhindered offering of your gift to God.
無可指摘的態度
若想起弟兄向你懷怨……（太五23）
當你來到祭壇前，想起弟兄向你懷怨，若這不是病態地、敏感地翻出來的事，而是[想起]，那就是說神的靈在提醒你，那麼就要[先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物]。聖靈要徹底教導你的時候，千萬不要拒絕他在你裡面那種極度的敏感性。
[先去同弟兄和好……]主的吩咐是簡明的:[先和好。 ]從原路回去，依從祭壇所得的指示回去。對那向你懷怨的人，要有正確的態度，以致和解就像呼吸一樣自然。耶穌並沒有提到另外那個人，他只說－－你去。不必考慮自己的主權。聖徒的印記就是放棄自己的主權，順服主耶穌。
[然後來獻禮物。 ]過程很清楚。首先，是放下英雄氣概；然後被聖靈敏銳的查察，在服罪中停下來；接著向神的話順服，對那懷怨的，在心志與心性上，建立無可指摘的態度；最後是快樂的、單純的、無阻攔的向神獻上禮物。
祈禱◆[我們的主為大，最有能力；他的智慧無法測度。 ]所有能力和智慧肯定是屬於你，而我又肯定地渴望著你，並藉著你的恩典，叫你的道路能在我身上通行無阻。
September 25, 2014
The “Go” of Relationship
Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two—Matthew 5:41
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. . .” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
[去]的關係
有人強逼你走一里路，你就同他走二里。 （太五41）
除非主在我們身上行超然的工作，否則他所要求的那種是不可能的。主耶穌要求門徒在遇到暴虐不平時，不可有絲毫的怨恨，即使藏在內心也不可。無論怎樣的熱誠，也受不住主耶穌加在工人身上的考驗。只有一件事可以，就是與他有密切的關係，經歷過他潔淨的磨坊，以致只有一個心志留存－－[我在此任神差派往何方。 ]別的東西都可以消失，但與主的關係絕對不可。
登山寶訓不是一套理想。它說明了我內心要發生的事：就是當主改變我，把他自己的性情放在我裡面時所要成就的光景。只有耶穌基督才能達成登山寶訓。我們若要做主的門徒，就必須循超然的途徑；若死持作門徒的存心，就必不能作門徒。 [我揀選了你們。 ]這是神恩典的開始。這個催迫是我們無法逃避的，我們可以不聽命，但我們斷不能產生這個催迫。神超然的恩典是圖畫的主筆，我們無法追溯他工作的起源。他塑造門徒的工作是超然的，並不建基於天然的力量。神不會叫我們做人力容易達成的事，他只叫我們做那些憑恩典才能應付裕如的事，而十字架往往就循這個途徑而來。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著那環繞我，是我猶如在天堂的聖徒祈禱，我讚美你。為著那透過你的救贖而臨到我的無言恩典，我稱頌你。
Our Lord’s teaching can be summed up in this: the relationship that He demands for us is an impossible one unless He has done a super-natural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice. No amount of enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His servant. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself— a relationship that has been examined, purified, and tested until only one purpose remains and I can truly say, “I am here for God to send me where He will.” Everything else may become blurred, but this relationship with Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally. And as long as we consciously maintain the determined purpose to be His disciples, we can be sure that we are not disciples. Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. . .” (John 15:16). That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we can never escape; we can disobey it, but we can never start it or produce it ourselves. We are drawn to God by a work of His supernatural grace, and we can never trace back to find where the work began. Our Lord’s making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity of ours at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us— He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace, and that is where the cross we must bear will always come.
[去]的關係
有人強逼你走一里路，你就同他走二里。 （太五41）
除非主在我們身上行超然的工作，否則他所要求的那種是不可能的。主耶穌要求門徒在遇到暴虐不平時，不可有絲毫的怨恨，即使藏在內心也不可。無論怎樣的熱誠，也受不住主耶穌加在工人身上的考驗。只有一件事可以，就是與他有密切的關係，經歷過他潔淨的磨坊，以致只有一個心志留存－－[我在此任神差派往何方。 ]別的東西都可以消失，但與主的關係絕對不可。
登山寶訓不是一套理想。它說明了我內心要發生的事：就是當主改變我，把他自己的性情放在我裡面時所要成就的光景。只有耶穌基督才能達成登山寶訓。我們若要做主的門徒，就必須循超然的途徑；若死持作門徒的存心，就必不能作門徒。 [我揀選了你們。 ]這是神恩典的開始。這個催迫是我們無法逃避的，我們可以不聽命，但我們斷不能產生這個催迫。神超然的恩典是圖畫的主筆，我們無法追溯他工作的起源。他塑造門徒的工作是超然的，並不建基於天然的力量。神不會叫我們做人力容易達成的事，他只叫我們做那些憑恩典才能應付裕如的事，而十字架往往就循這個途徑而來。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著那環繞我，是我猶如在天堂的聖徒祈禱，我讚美你。為著那透過你的救贖而臨到我的無言恩典，我稱頌你。
September 24, 2014
The “Go” of Preparation
If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift—Matthew 5:23-24
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “. . . go your way. First be reconciled to your brother. . . .” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confess it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
[去]的準備
所以你在祭壇上獻禮物的時候，若想起弟兄向你懷怨，就把禮物留在壇前，先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物。 （太五23-24）
我們很容易幻想自己會達到一個完全準備妥當的地步，但其實準備功夫不是突然間可以作成，準備乃是一個不斷持續的過程。陷進固有的經歷中，是一種危險。我們要準備加上準備。 [犧牲精神]對青年信徒來說，是很具吸引力。按人性論，唯一吸引我們向主耶穌的，就是那英雄氣概。可是在主話的細察下，這熱潮要受到考驗。主說：[先去同弟兄和好。 ][去]的準備，是先讓神的話查驗。單有英雄氣概是不夠的。聖靈要在你身上查處不合用於事奉的意向。這意向，除了神以外，沒有人能查察出來。你有什麼東西要向神隱藏？若有，就讓神用他的光來搜查。若有罪，就要認罪，不要單單承認。不管是怎樣卑躬，你願意順服主麼？
千萬不可不顧良心的譴責。若神的靈叫你想起那事，那事就是重要的，是他所要查察的。你以往不斷要找些大的事來放棄，神卻要你註一些小事。因為在這小事的背後，正藏著頑梗的大本營：[我不肯放棄自己的主權。 ]若要作耶穌基督的門徒，神要你放棄的正是你的主權。
祈禱◆主啊，讓今天充滿了對你的讚美。願你使我脫離各式各樣的煩擾。為著我的思想能專注於你，我讚美你，但我仍渴望你的美善臨到我身上。
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “. . . go your way. First be reconciled to your brother. . . .” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confess it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
[去]的準備
所以你在祭壇上獻禮物的時候，若想起弟兄向你懷怨，就把禮物留在壇前，先去同弟兄和好，然後來獻禮物。 （太五23-24）
我們很容易幻想自己會達到一個完全準備妥當的地步，但其實準備功夫不是突然間可以作成，準備乃是一個不斷持續的過程。陷進固有的經歷中，是一種危險。我們要準備加上準備。 [犧牲精神]對青年信徒來說，是很具吸引力。按人性論，唯一吸引我們向主耶穌的，就是那英雄氣概。可是在主話的細察下，這熱潮要受到考驗。主說：[先去同弟兄和好。 ][去]的準備，是先讓神的話查驗。單有英雄氣概是不夠的。聖靈要在你身上查處不合用於事奉的意向。這意向，除了神以外，沒有人能查察出來。你有什麼東西要向神隱藏？若有，就讓神用他的光來搜查。若有罪，就要認罪，不要單單承認。不管是怎樣卑躬，你願意順服主麼？
千萬不可不顧良心的譴責。若神的靈叫你想起那事，那事就是重要的，是他所要查察的。你以往不斷要找些大的事來放棄，神卻要你註一些小事。因為在這小事的背後，正藏著頑梗的大本營：[我不肯放棄自己的主權。 ]若要作耶穌基督的門徒，神要你放棄的正是你的主權。
祈禱◆主啊，讓今天充滿了對你的讚美。願你使我脫離各式各樣的煩擾。為著我的思想能專注於你，我讚美你，但我仍渴望你的美善臨到我身上。
September 23, 2014
The Missionary’s Goal
He . . . said to them, ’Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem . . . ’ —Luke 18:31
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—”. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“. . . there they crucified Him . . .” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ’up to Jerusalem.’ “
傳道者的目標
看哪，我們上耶路撒冷去。 （路十八31）
在天然生命中，我們會按著發展而改變自己的野心。可是在信徒生命中，目標一開始就擺明出來，而這目標是始終如一的：主自己。我們始於基督，也終於基督－－[直等到我們……長大成人，滿有基督長成的身量。 ]我們並不是依自己認為的理想信徒生命而行。傳道人的目標是要行神的旨意，不是要大得使用，不是要贏得許多不信的人。他當然要合用，也當然要贏多人信主，但那不是他的目標。他的目標是遵行神的旨意。
在主的一生中，耶路撒冷是他在十架上成就天父旨意的頂峰。我們若未與他同往，就並未與他同行。主上耶路撒冷的路上，沒有什麼事物可以叫他灰心。在備受攻擊的村鎮，他沒匆匆避過；在大受擁戴的地方，他也不會流連不去。不管人對他感恩或是忘恩，總不能叫他走向耶路撒冷的心意改變一丁點兒。
[僕人不能高過主人。 ]在往耶路撒冷的路上，我們也要遭遇同樣的事。神的工作會透過我們彰顯，有人得著祝福，一兩個人會表示感激，其他的人可能會忘恩負義。可是，不要讓任何事物使我們偏離上耶路撒冷的路。
[他們在那裡釘他十字架。 ]這就是主到耶路撒冷所遭遇的，而這卻開啟我們得救的門。聖徒的終局不是釘十字架；憑神的恩典，他們的終局是榮耀的。在這當兒，我們口號是：也上耶路撒冷去。
祈禱◆主啊，我能夠認識你是何等美好；我何其需要靠近你。當你成為我的生命時，我怎能顫抖！
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—”. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . .” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“. . . there they crucified Him . . .” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ’up to Jerusalem.’ “
傳道者的目標
看哪，我們上耶路撒冷去。 （路十八31）
在天然生命中，我們會按著發展而改變自己的野心。可是在信徒生命中，目標一開始就擺明出來，而這目標是始終如一的：主自己。我們始於基督，也終於基督－－[直等到我們……長大成人，滿有基督長成的身量。 ]我們並不是依自己認為的理想信徒生命而行。傳道人的目標是要行神的旨意，不是要大得使用，不是要贏得許多不信的人。他當然要合用，也當然要贏多人信主，但那不是他的目標。他的目標是遵行神的旨意。
在主的一生中，耶路撒冷是他在十架上成就天父旨意的頂峰。我們若未與他同往，就並未與他同行。主上耶路撒冷的路上，沒有什麼事物可以叫他灰心。在備受攻擊的村鎮，他沒匆匆避過；在大受擁戴的地方，他也不會流連不去。不管人對他感恩或是忘恩，總不能叫他走向耶路撒冷的心意改變一丁點兒。
[僕人不能高過主人。 ]在往耶路撒冷的路上，我們也要遭遇同樣的事。神的工作會透過我們彰顯，有人得著祝福，一兩個人會表示感激，其他的人可能會忘恩負義。可是，不要讓任何事物使我們偏離上耶路撒冷的路。
[他們在那裡釘他十字架。 ]這就是主到耶路撒冷所遭遇的，而這卻開啟我們得救的門。聖徒的終局不是釘十字架；憑神的恩典，他們的終局是榮耀的。在這當兒，我們口號是：也上耶路撒冷去。
祈禱◆主啊，我能夠認識你是何等美好；我何其需要靠近你。當你成為我的生命時，我怎能顫抖！
September 22, 2014
The Missionary’s Master and Teacher
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am . . . . I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master . . .—John 13:13, 16
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— “. . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . .” (Matthew 23:8).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
“You call Me Teacher and Lord . . .”— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. “. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . .” (Hebrews 5:8). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.
傳道者的主人
你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主，你們說的不錯，我本來是。 （約十三13）
有一位主人與被人驅使，是兩回事。有一位主人，就是有一位元比我更認識我的人；他比朋友更親密；他深入我內心的深處，叫我滿足；他解決我心思裡一切的困惑與疑難，叫我安穩。這就是主人的意思，不折不扣－－只有一位是我們的主人，就是基督。
主從不勉強人順服，也不會設計使我們做他要我做的。有時我寧願神管制我，迫我做某些事，可是他不會這樣；有時我又希望他不要管我，但他也不會這樣。 [你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主]－－他果真是麼？夫子和主，在我們的字彙中很少出現；我們喜歡用救主、使人成聖者、醫治者等字眼。唯一可以描寫有一位主人這經歷的字眼，就是愛，而我們對神所啟示的愛，認識又那麼少。這在我們對[順服]一詞的運用上，就可以看出來。在聖經中，順服是根據平等關係而言，就是兒子與父親的關係。我們的主並不是神的僕人，他是神的兒子。 [他雖然為兒子，還是……學了順服。 ]若我們以為是被轄管，這就是我們並未有主人的明證；這種對耶穌的態度，與他所想望的關係相距實在太遠。他要我們與他的關係，應該是自然地以他為主人，只知道我們屬他，聽他的話。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我懷著靈性上極之枯乾和貧乏的感覺，來到你面前；噢，主啊，為著你的名，求你激發我。我不會在你面前悲嘆，卻會被你的靈所充滿。
To have a master and teacher is not the same thing as being mastered and taught. Having a master and teacher means that there is someone who knows me better than I know myself, who is closer than a friend, and who understands the remotest depths of my heart and is able to satisfy them fully. It means having someone who has made me secure in the knowledge that he has met and solved all the doubts, uncertainties, and problems in my mind. To have a master and teacher is this and nothing less— “. . . for One is your Teacher, the Christ . . .” (Matthew 23:8).
Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.
“You call Me Teacher and Lord . . .”— but is He? Teacher, Master, and Lord have little place in our vocabulary. We prefer the words Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. The only word that truly describes the experience of being mastered is love, and we know little about love as God reveals it in His Word. The way we use the word obey is proof of this. In the Bible, obedience is based on a relationship between equals; for example, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not simply God’s servant— He was His Son. “. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. . .” (Hebrews 5:8). If we are consciously aware that we are being mastered, that idea itself is proof that we have no master. If that is our attitude toward Jesus, we are far away from having the relationship He wants with us. He wants us in a relationship where He is so easily our Master and Teacher that we have no conscious awareness of it—a relationship where all we know is that we are His to obey.
傳道者的主人
你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主，你們說的不錯，我本來是。 （約十三13）
有一位主人與被人驅使，是兩回事。有一位主人，就是有一位元比我更認識我的人；他比朋友更親密；他深入我內心的深處，叫我滿足；他解決我心思裡一切的困惑與疑難，叫我安穩。這就是主人的意思，不折不扣－－只有一位是我們的主人，就是基督。
主從不勉強人順服，也不會設計使我們做他要我做的。有時我寧願神管制我，迫我做某些事，可是他不會這樣；有時我又希望他不要管我，但他也不會這樣。 [你們稱呼我夫子，稱呼我主]－－他果真是麼？夫子和主，在我們的字彙中很少出現；我們喜歡用救主、使人成聖者、醫治者等字眼。唯一可以描寫有一位主人這經歷的字眼，就是愛，而我們對神所啟示的愛，認識又那麼少。這在我們對[順服]一詞的運用上，就可以看出來。在聖經中，順服是根據平等關係而言，就是兒子與父親的關係。我們的主並不是神的僕人，他是神的兒子。 [他雖然為兒子，還是……學了順服。 ]若我們以為是被轄管，這就是我們並未有主人的明證；這種對耶穌的態度，與他所想望的關係相距實在太遠。他要我們與他的關係，應該是自然地以他為主人，只知道我們屬他，聽他的話。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，我懷著靈性上極之枯乾和貧乏的感覺，來到你面前；噢，主啊，為著你的名，求你激發我。我不會在你面前悲嘆，卻會被你的靈所充滿。
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