章伯斯原著 | 听见录制 | 主播:胡正军
“在至圣的真道上造就自己。”(犹20)
我们的主既不冲动,也不冷漠无情。祂有安静的能力,从来不会慌张无措。我们多半凭自己性向来发展信仰,而不循神的路线发展。
冲动是天然生命的特征,我们的主总不理会它,因为它阻碍作主门徒的生命。注意神的灵怎样阻挡人的冲动,祂一阻挡,我们会突然觉察自己的愚昧,以致想立刻替自己辩护。
孩子冲动是自然的,但在成年人,却是大祸。易冲动的人,必然是个纵容惯了的人。我们得律己,把冲动训练成为洞察力。
做门徒完全基于神超然的恩典。在水面上行走,凭一时冲动的勇气,是容易的事;但在干地上做主门徒,却是另一回事了。彼得在水面上向主走去,但在陆地上,反而远远跟着。
在危急关头,未必需要神的恩典才站得住,人天然的本能与傲气足够抵受这压力。但是要每天二十四小时都做圣徒,做单调乏味的工作,过平凡、不受人注意、被人忽略的生活,就必定要仰赖神超然的恩典。
我们根深蒂固地以为一定要为神做大事,其实并不然。我们乃是要在平凡的事上有不平凡的表现,在陋巷中、在卑污的人中间,仍然保持圣洁,这不是五分钟可以学到的功课。
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祈祷
主啊,我自觉内心不成比例——那些蝇头小事紧逼心头,但那些荣耀的事情却退隐一旁。求祢为我开一条出路,以致我可以荣耀祢。
DIRECTION BY IMPULSE
"Building up yourselves on your most holy faith." Jude 20
There was nothing either of the nature of impulse or of cold-bloodedness about Our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the line of our temperament, not along the line of God. Impulse is a trait in natural life, but Our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God checks impulse, His checks bring a rush of self-conscious foolishness which makes us instantly want to vindicate ourselves. Impulse is all right in a child, but it is disastrous in a man or woman; an impulsive man is always a petted man. Impulse has to be trained into intuition by discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on the water is easy to impulsive pluck, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but he followed Him afar off on the land. We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twentyfour hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes.