0507 為永恆而建造
你們哪一個要蓋一座樓，不先坐下算計花費，能蓋成不能呢？《路加福音14:28》
我們的主在這裡不是指我們必須要計算的代價，而是指祂已經計算過的代價；那個代價就是在拿撒勒的那三十年，那三年的被人歡迎、毀謗和憎恨，祂在客西馬尼園經歷的深不可測的痛苦，以及加略山對祂的攻擊——那成為整個時間與永恆轉動的樞軸。耶穌基督已經計算過代價。歸根結底，人們不會嘲笑祂說：「這個人開了工，卻不能完工。」（路加福音 14:30）
我們的主在第 26、27 和 33 節中給予我們作門徒的條件，這意味着在祂偉大的建設工程中，祂要使用的男男女女，是那些祂在其中做了一切的人。「人到我這裡來，若不愛我勝過愛自己的父母、妻子、兒女、弟兄，姐妹，和自己的性命，就不能作我的門徒。」（路加福音 14:26）。這經文告訴我們，我們的主在祂的建造事業中，只使用那些親自愛祂、熱切地愛祂和委身於愛祂的人——那些對祂的愛遠遠超出地球上任何最親密的關係的人。條件是嚴格的，但它們榮耀的。
我們所建造的一切都將被神檢驗。當神用祂精鍊之火鑒察我們的時候，神會察覺我們在耶穌的根基上建造了我們自己的事業嗎？ （見哥林多前書 3:10-15）我們生活在一個巨大企業的時代，一個我們試圖為神工作的時代，而這就是陷阱所在。深刻地說，我們永遠不能為神作工。耶穌作為建造大師，接管了我們，以便祂可以完全指導和控制我們，為祂的企業和祂的建築計劃；無人有任何權利要求他將被安排在哪裡工作。
來自章伯斯的智慧
耶穌基督可以承受被誤解；我們不能。我們的弱點在於總是想要為自己辯護。《幫助之地》
0507 Building for Eternity
Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it… —Luke 14:28
Our Lord was not referring here to a cost which we have to count, but to a cost which He has already counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal, and hatred, the unfathomable agony He experienced in Gethsemane, and the assault upon Him at Calvary— the central point upon which all of time and eternity turn. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. In the final analysis, people are not going to laugh at Him and say, “This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:30).
The conditions of discipleship given to us by our Lord in verses 26, 27, and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple ” (Luke 14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion— those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus? (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). We are living in a time of tremendous enterprises, a time when we are trying to work for God, and that is where the trap is. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus, as the Master Builder, takes us over so that He may direct and control us completely for His enterprises and His building plans; and no one has any right to demand where he will be put to work.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Jesus Christ can afford to be misunderstood; we cannot. Our weakness lies in always wanting to vindicate ourselves. –The Place of Help