0224 犧牲的歡欣
我也甘心樂意為你們的靈魂費財費力。《哥林多後書12:15》
一旦「所賜給我們的聖靈將神的愛澆灌在我們心裡」，我們就會刻意地開始支持耶穌基督對他人生活中的利益和目的（羅馬書5:5）。耶穌對每個人都有興趣。在基督徒的服事中，我們沒有權利受自己的興趣和慾望的引導。事實上，這是我們與耶穌基督關係的最大考驗之一。犧牲的歡欣在於我為我的朋友耶穌獻出生命（見約翰福音 15:13）。我不將我的生命丟掉，但我樂意並有意地為祂和祂對其他人的利益而捨棄自己的生命。我這樣做沒有自己原因或目的。保羅一生只為一個目的而活——贏得人們歸向耶穌基督。保羅總是吸引人們歸向他的主，但從來不是歸向他自己。他說：「向什麼樣的人，我就作什麼樣的人，無論如何，總要救些人。」（哥林多前書 9:22）。
當有人認為要發展聖潔的生活，他必須總是單獨與神在一起時，他對別人就不再有任何用處了。這就像把自己置於高處，並將自己與社會其他人隔離開來。保羅是一個聖潔的人，但無論他走到哪裡，他總是讓耶穌基督隨意用他的生命。我們許多人只對自己的目標感興趣，而耶穌無法隨意使用我的生命；但如果我們完全降服於祂，我們就沒有自己服事的目標。保羅說，他知道如何成為「腳墊」而無怨恨，因為他生命的動力就是對耶穌的奉獻。我們傾向於不委身耶穌基督，而委身於那些能讓我們有更多靈性自由多過完全降服於祂的事物。自由根本不是保羅的動機；事實上，他說：「為我的弟兄，我骨肉之親，就是自己被咒詛，與基督分離，我也願意。」（羅馬書 9:3）。保羅失去了理智的能力嗎？一點也不是！對於戀愛中的人來說，這一點也不誇張；保羅深愛着耶穌基督。
來自章伯斯的智慧
真理是我們無需害怕，也無需克服什麼，因為祂是萬有的一切，我們是藉着祂而得勝有餘。認識這個真理並非奉承工人的英雄主義，而是令人驚奇地榮耀基督的工作。《蒙神悅納》
0224 The Delight of Sacrifice
I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls… —2 Corinthians 12:15
Once “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” we deliberately begin to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ’s interests and purposes in others’ lives (Romans 5:5). And Jesus has an interest in every individual person. We have no right in Christian service to be guided by our own interests and desires. In fact, this is one of the greatest tests of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The delight of sacrifice is that I lay down my life for my Friend, Jesus (see John 15:13). I don’t throw my life away, but I willingly and deliberately lay it down for Him and His interests in other people. And I do this for no cause or purpose of my own. Paul spent his life for only one purpose— that he might win people to Jesus Christ. Paul always attracted people to his Lord, but never to himself. He said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
When someone thinks that to develop a holy life he must always be alone with God, he is no longer of any use to others. This is like putting himself on a pedestal and isolating himself from the rest of society. Paul was a holy person, but wherever he went Jesus Christ was always allowed to help Himself to his life. Many of us are interested only in our own goals, and Jesus cannot help Himself to our lives. But if we are totally surrendered to Him, we have no goals of our own to serve. Paul said that he knew how to be a “doormat” without resenting it, because the motivation of his life was devotion to Jesus. We tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow. Freedom was not Paul’s motive at all. In fact, he stated, “I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren…” (Romans 9:3). Had Paul lost his ability to reason? Not at all! For someone who is in love, this is not an overstatement. And Paul was in love with Jesus Christ.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ. —Approved Unto God, 4 R