0117 天然生命的呼召
既然樂意將祂兒子啟示在我心裡…《加拉太書 1:15-16》
神的呼召並不要求以任何特定的方式事奉祂。我與神本性的接觸將塑造我對祂呼召的理解，並將幫助我意識到我真正渴望為祂做的是什麼。神的呼召是祂本性的表達；在我生活中所產生的事奉是適合於我，並且是我本性的表達。使徒保羅對天然生命的呼召是如此陳述的：「神樂意……將祂的兒子啟示在我裡面，使我在外邦人中傳講祂【意即純粹而莊嚴地表達祂】…」
事奉是從充滿愛和委身的生命中傾瀉而洋溢的。但嚴格來說，沒有那樣事奉的呼召。事奉是我為這個關係所帶來的，也是我對神本性認同的反映。事奉成為我生命中自然的一部分。神把我帶入與祂的合宜關係里，以便於我能明白祂的呼召，然後我基於絕對的愛的動機，自發地服事祂。事奉神是聽到神呼召的本性刻意的愛的禮物。事奉是我本性的表達，而神的呼召是祂本性的表達。因此，當我接受祂的本性並聽到祂的呼召時，祂神聖之聲就迴響在祂的本性和我的本性中，兩者在事奉中合一。神的兒子將自己啟示在我心裡，出於對祂的委身，事奉成為我每天的生活方式。
來自章伯斯的智慧
我們可以通過其他方式了解神的屬性，但我們只能在基督的十字架中了解天父的心。 《至善—禰偉大的救贖》
0117 The Call of the Natural Life
When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me. –Galatians 1:15-16
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”
The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— “When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles….”
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ. — The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L