0518 生活簡單，然而專註
你們看天上的飛鳥…你想野地的百合花怎麼長起來…《馬太福音6:26, 28》
「你想野地里的百合花，怎麼長起來：它也不勞苦，也不紡線。」它們就是存在！想想海洋、空氣、太陽、星星和月亮，所有這些也只是存在着，但它們代表我們提供了多麼偉大的事工和服務啊！我們常常因為自己有意識地努力保持一致和有用，因而損害了神設計的影響力，祂希望通過我們展示這種影響力。耶穌說，靈性上的發展和成長只有一種方法，那就是聚焦和專註於神。本質上，耶穌是在說：「不要擔心對別人有用；只要相信我。」換句話說，要留意源頭，從你裡面「要流出活水的江河來」（約翰福音7:38）。我們無法通過常識和推理來發現我們天然生命的源頭，而耶穌在這裡教導我們，我們屬靈生命的成長不是來自於直接關注於它，而是來自專註於我們在天上的父。我們的天父知道我們的處境，如果我們繼續專註於祂，而非我們的處境，我們就會在靈性上成長——就像「野地的百合花」一樣生長。
對我們影響最大的人，不是那些以他們不停談話耽擱我們的人，而是那些像天上的星星和「野地的百合花」一樣，簡單而不受影響的人，是那些生命影響和塑造我們。
如果你想為神所用，你要透過專註於耶穌基督來與祂保持合宜正確的關係，祂就會在你生活的每一分鐘都使用你——然而，在你生命的意識層面上，你不會意識到，你正在被祂使用。
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》
0518 Living Simply— Yet Focused
Look at the birds of the air….Consider the lilies of the field… —Matthew 6:26, 28
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin”— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me.” In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually— just as “the lilies of the field.”
The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field”— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.
If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.
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, 1051 L