0303 祂给我们的使命
你喂养我的羊。《约翰福音21:17》
这就是正在酝酿中的爱。神的爱不是被造的——那是祂的本性。当我们通过圣灵接受基督的生命时，祂就把我们与神连接，使祂的爱在我们身上彰显出来。内住圣灵的目标不仅仅是将我们与神联合，更是以耶稣和父合一的方式那样将我们与天父合一。耶稣基督与父合一是什么样的一呢？祂与父是如此合一，以至于当祂的父差祂来这里为我们倾倒耗尽时，祂是顺服的。祂对我们说：「父怎样差遣了我，我也照样差遣你们。」（约翰福音 20:21）
由于主尖锐的问题所带来的启示，彼得现在意识到他确实爱祂。主的下一个要点是——「将自己倾倒耗尽。不要证明你有多爱我，也不要谈论你所得到的美妙启示，只要『喂养我的羊』」。耶稣有一些非常奇特古怪的羊：有些是蓬头垢面、肮脏，有些是难对付的或咄咄逼人的，有些是已经误入歧途！但那都不可能耗尽神的爱，如果我的爱是从我里面神的灵流出来的，那也不可能耗尽我的爱。神的爱并不理会我天然个性所导致的偏见。如果我爱我的主，我就不该被天然情感所牵引——我必须喂养祂的羊。我们不会被脱离或免除于祂给我们的大使命。要谨防借着追随自己天然人类情感、同情心或理解来假冒神的爱，那只会辱骂和滥用神的真爱。
来自章伯斯的智慧
对神的理智认识可能会在糟糕邪恶的性格中找到。对神的认识和视觉完全取决于一颗纯洁的心。品格决定了神对个人的显现。清心的人得以见神。《圣经伦理学》
0303 His Commission to Us
Feed My sheep. —John 21:17
This is love in the making. The love of God is not created— it is His nature. When we receive the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit, He unites us with God so that His love is demonstrated in us. The goal of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not just to unite us with God, but to do it in such a way that we will be one with the Father in exactly the same way Jesus was. And what kind of oneness did Jesus Christ have with the Father? He had such a oneness with the Father that He was obedient when His Father sent Him down here to be poured out for us. And He says to us, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).
Peter now realizes that he does love Him, due to the revelation that came with the Lord’s piercing question. The Lord’s next point is— “Pour yourself out. Don’t testify about how much you love Me and don’t talk about the wonderful revelation you have had, just ‘Feed My sheep.’ ” Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
An intellectual conception of God may be found in a bad vicious character. The knowledge and vision of God is dependent entirely on a pure heart. Character determines the revelation of God to the individual. The pure in heart see God. –Biblical Ethics, 125 R