0301 尖銳的問題
你愛我嗎？《約翰福音 21:17》
彼得對這個尖銳問題的反應，與他幾天前所表現出的大膽反抗截然不同，當時他宣稱：「我就是必須與和你同死，也總不能不認你。」（馬太福音 26:35；另見馬太福音 26:33-34）。我們天然的個性，或者我們天然的自我，大膽地說出並宣告它的感受。但是，我們內在靈性自我的真愛，只能透過耶穌基督這個問題的傷害，才能發現。彼得愛耶穌，就像任何天然人愛好人一樣；但這只不過是情感上的愛，它可能深入到我們天然的自我，但它永遠無法滲透到一個人的靈里。真正的愛永遠不只是宣稱自己 ；耶穌說： 「凡在人面前認我的（也就是說，透過他所做每件事來告白他的愛，而不僅是透過他的言語），人子在神的使者面前也必認他。」（路加福音 12:8）
除非我們正經歷着面對關於自己每個欺騙的傷害，否則我們就阻礙了神話語在我們生活中的工作。神的話語給我們帶來的傷害比罪更甚，因為罪使我們的感官遲鈍。但主的這個問題強化我們的敏感度到了極點，以至於耶穌所帶來的傷害是可以想象到的最強烈的痛苦。這不僅在天然層面上帶來痛苦，且在更深層次的靈性層面上也是如此。「因為神的道是活潑的，是有功效的…甚至魂與靈，骨節與骨髓，都能刺入、剖開…」——甚至到了沒有任何欺騙可以存留的地步（希伯來書4:12）。當主問我們這個問題時，我們不可能正確地思考和回應，因為當主直接對我們說話時，痛苦太過強烈了。它造成如此巨大的痛苦，以至於我們生活中任何與祂的旨意不合的部分都會感到痛苦。祂的兒女們從來不會感到誤解主的話語之痛，但感受到痛苦的那一刻，正是神向我們啟示祂真理的時刻。
來自章伯斯的智慧
我們可能對神的觀念像把熔化的鉛倒入專門設計的模具中，那是極具危險性的，當它冷卻凝固後，我們就把它扔到不同意我們觀點的宗教人士的頭上。《真的門徒》
0301 The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17
Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us. –Disciples Indeed