0313 神對我們的完全交出
因為神愛世人，甚至賜下……《約翰福音 3:16》
救恩並不僅僅意味着從罪中得拯救或經歷個人的聖潔；從神而來的救恩意味着完全從自我解脫，並被放進與神完全的聯合中。當我想到我的救恩經歷時，我想到的是脫離罪並獲得個人的聖潔；但救恩遠不止於此！它意味着神的靈把我帶入與神自己真實位格的親密接觸。當我被帶入對神的完全降服時，我被遠超過我自己的無比偉大之事物所震撼。
說我們被呼召宣講聖潔或成聖，那就錯失要點。我們被呼召去宣揚耶穌基督（見哥林多前書 2:2）。祂救我們脫離罪並使我們聖潔的這個事實，實際上是祂對我們奇妙而完全交出的效力之一。
如果我們真正降服，我們將永遠不會意識到我們自己努力維持降服。我們整個生命將全神貫注在我們所降服的那一位。如果你對降服一無所知，要小心談論之。事實上，你永遠不會了解降服，直到你明白約翰福音 3:16 的意思，即神完全並絕對地將自己給了我們。在我們的降服中，我們必須將自己以同樣方式給神，就像祂把祂自己給我們一樣：完全、無條件、毫無保留。我們降服的後果和環境永遠不會進入我們的頭腦里，因為我們的生命將完全專註於祂。
來自章伯斯的智慧
當我們不再為神的祝福而尋求神時，我們就有時間為祂而尋求祂自己。《生命的道德基礎》
0313 God’s Total Surrender to Us
For God so loved the world that He gave… —John 3:16
Salvation does not mean merely deliverance from sin or the experience of personal holiness. The salvation which comes from God means being completely delivered from myself, and being placed into perfect union with Him. When I think of my salvation experience, I think of being delivered from sin and gaining personal holiness. But salvation is so much more! It means that the Spirit of God has brought me into intimate contact with the true Person of God Himself. And as I am caught up into total surrender to God, I become thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
To say that we are called to preach holiness or sanctification is to miss the main point. We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is actually part of the effect of His wonderful and total surrender to us.
If we are truly surrendered, we will never be aware of our own efforts to remain surrendered. Our entire life will be consumed with the One to whom we surrender. Beware of talking about surrender if you know nothing about it. In fact, you will never know anything about it until you understand that John 3:16 means that God completely and absolutely gave Himself to us. In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us— totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. The consequences and circumstances resulting from our surrender will never even enter our mind, because our life will be totally consumed with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When we no longer seek God for His blessings, we have time to seek Him for Himself. — The Moral Foundations of Life, 728L